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5/17/25 All Smoke and Mirrors

Have you ever heard someone say that magic tricks are all smoke and mirrors? The magician deceives us by using tactics that distract us from reality and turn us to the false reality he wants us to accept. His illusions and deceptions appear genuine in our minds, unless we uncover his secrets - his use of false images and just plain trickery.

Believe it or not, the devil does the same kind of trickery every day in each of our lives. He continually goads us to believe that what the world presents is reality. He flashes false wisdom, creates seemingly insurmountable scenarios, tries to plant his own thoughts in our minds, and attempts to deceive us into thinking that he holds the keys to our days.

Well, as real as his plan seems, it’s all smoke and mirrors. The Word says that we’re to look past what we see with our earthly perceptions, and focus on the eternal, the truth of what’s really happening. We’re to allow the Lord to retrain our thinking. We’re to look past what seems normal, and see what the Lord has done and is doing in every situation. We’re to believe more in God’s kingdom principles than the principles we’ve been taught by the world all our lives.

There is no smoke and there are no mirrors with God. His Word is always true. His promises are always reliable. What Jesus has done for us will always be real, no matter how much it is distorted by the world and its ways. You can rely on the fact that God is far more powerful than any situation you face. God said it; therefore, it is clear, honorable, smokeless truth. Do you believe it?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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5/16/25 Free to Own Nothing

“Remember when I told you that you can’t give away what you do not own? The opposite is true also. You cannot own what has not been given to you. Ownership is such an incredible concept in My kingdom. Jesus owned nothing because He chose to give away all that He had, so that you could have everything. You are now asked to give everything away if you desire to possess all the treasures of heaven. When your heart is empty of any desire, other than to possess whatever cannot be yours unless it is given to you by Me, I will fill it with Myself. When that happens, all that I am and all that I possess become yours. It becomes yours to give away.

“This is not a game; it is a wonderful principle that is beyond carnal understanding. Enjoy it with Me. Ownership in your earthly world causes you nothing but bondage. First, you strive to gain whatever it is that you desire to own. Then you walk in bondage because you fear losing whatever holds your heart. Ownership in My kingdom is exactly the opposite. The single possession of My Spirit is everything that you will ever need. When it is yours, however, your only purpose is to make sure that others receive it.

“By your new nature, you must give it away. It is the nature that Jesus possesses. Seek to rid yourself of all desires that have value in your world. Receive My heart so that you have riches enough to share with everyone you meet. I will then give them the heart of Jesus. They will then have everything, so that they are free to own nothing.”

I John 4:16-18 AMP

16) And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.

17) In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completeness and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.

18) There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

 

While I was writing the above message, I felt a joyous, almost playful spirit. It seemed that the Lord was having fun presenting what at first glance seemed like the “foolishness” (in the eyes of the world) of His ways in comparison to the foolish ways of the world. In reality, however, the wealth of the concept of godly ownership versus earthly ownership is astounding. It is the epitome of love. Someone who walks in God’s kind of perfect love owns nothing for himself. It is the heart of Jesus as He endured the cross, so that each of us could be separated from our sin, which separated us from God. Owning everything, He willingly gave everything away in heaven and then on earth in order for that to happen.

If we would examine our lives, we would discover that whenever we have a fear of any kind, it has to do with the prospect of losing something that we own; or more accurately, something that owns us. We fear losing our possessions, our health, our freedoms, and even our lives.

Jesus functioned in such perfect love that He willingly gave all of His life away. The leaders and the rulers of that time couldn’t take His life because He had already given it away long before they even met Him. All of their power had no power over Him, because He functioned in a realm where true power was exhibited - not through ownership, but through love. No one can kill a person who is already dead.

In these times, the world understands fear, and people use it against each other to maintain control. What is not understood is true love - not the foolish interpretation of love that suggests weakness, but the overcoming power of God’s kind of love. We, as Christians, are not only free from the wrong kind of fear of God, but we can also be free from all the fears of the world if we choose to function in that love. Sometimes it will look like we have lost because of the way we love; but in reality we have won, just like Jesus did.

Needing to function in God’s kind of love,

Jim Corbett

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5/16/25 Mind War

Does this sound familiar? You’re finally able to clear your busy schedule and find those few quiet moments you’ve been looking for to spend time with God, only you’re unable to focus on Him. The Bible study part comes relatively easy because you can focus on the words on the page; but to sit quietly and simply wait on Him for intimate communication is an incredible task. Your thoughts go to incidental stuff that needs to be done, old sins, the workload that’s waiting, etc., etc. Finally, you give up and walk away, feeling that your time was wasted or even that you’ve failed God one more time.

Most of us don’t realize the real war we face. The enemy has relatively little trouble with us going to church, attending men’s breakfast meetings, feeding the poor, or participating in any other spiritual in nature activity. However, if he can keep us from building an intimate relationship with our Lord, he wins. His deadly fear is that believers - especially men who are stewards of others - will develop an intimacy of love, power, and spiritual wealth with their Father in the throne room.  The enemy is already defeated through the cross, but he loses all battles in every area of our lives if we get our strategies directly from God.

Therein lies the battle. We, as believers, need supernatural wisdom to overcome the world. The only place we can get this kind of wisdom is in quiet intimacy with our Father God. Since the enemy knows this, he will do anything to keep us from that kind of interaction. He will use extreme challenges, distractions, business, remembrances of past fishing trips, anything to keep us from developing that relationship.

Understanding the war and knowing the primary battle is the first step to winning.  The battle plan is to keep going to God and pressing in through His power. Cast down the imaginations placed in your way. Give them over to the Lord. Seek God for His power to keep your mind focused. Press in, press in, and press in some more until the only desire you have in your heart is to be with your Father. Delight yourself in the Lord, and all the heart desires and needs you have will become part of the full, mature, loving relationship for which you’ve been born.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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5/15/25 More Than Just Surviving

“Do you fully understand the changes that are happening all around you? If you look past your fears and the lies of the world, you will see that they are My hand of promise and My refining fires of change.

“For some time I have been calling My people to prepare for a time when they will need to really know Me. That time is just on the horizon. For some of you it is already at your door. Do not think that the answers that the world is searching for are the answers I will allow you to partake in. You need to look only to Me.  My Holy Spirit will point you to Jesus and His ways. The more you become like Him, the less the world and its fears will be able to touch you.

“I need a people who will do more than just survive in the coming times. I need valiant warriors for the cause of Jesus, people who love as He does and are willing to live as He did in your midst. I want you to be used. Submit to Him this day. Overcome what is happening now and prosper in the times ahead.”

Matthew 11:12 NIV

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Luke 9:23-25 AMP

23)And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].

24) For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].

25) For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?

Acts 4:29-31 NIV

29) “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

30) Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31) After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

 

We are in the habit of protecting our comfort zones. We spend our lives building and maintaining. When what we have begins to slip through our fingers, we cry and call out for help from our Lord. “Please keep me safe from harm,” we say.

All the safety handles of life are being shown for the fleeting, false security that they always have been. The only real safety is in Jesus. Once we know that, and own it in our hearts, we can be used to do the will of our Father in heaven. He desires that we care nothing for our lives, what we own and what owns us, and really care for His desire that none should perish.

From the looks of things, things are well on their way to being exposed for what they are. Darkness is now being called light, and the real light is laughed at and criticized for being darkness. Those who are walking in the light of Jesus are being called blind and foolish.

At the same time, there is a panic in the hearts of those who have counted on the world and its ways to give them a sense of security and worth. All is falling away. All is becoming hopeless. They need to be given the real answer. His Name is Jesus.

Jesus is now asking you and me if we choose to cower in the darkness with those who cannot see, or desire to bring His light into those places. Are we going to really step into our calling as children of a powerful God and take His answers to those who need Him, or are we going to hide in hovels that have no safety?

Make my light brighter, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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5/15/25 The Captivity of Activity

Each of us has seasons in our lives, which are designed by God to further our walk with Him or to challenge us to find His power to win the war against our drawing near to Him. One of my more recent seasons was spent on a porch in North Carolina, where I enjoyed the view of a wonderful mountain landscape. For five years, weather permitting, I was able to spend hours and hours with Him. I had been given no purpose but to sit and wait in His presence, find His direction, and then come back to His lap when any assignment was completed. Even though I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, this season was more marvelous than I can express in words.

My season has definitely changed. At present, the demands of my life cause me to fight for moments with the Lord. I know He’s always available, waiting for me to join Him; but now, obligations are pressing in on all sides. There is a continual war raging to keep me from those quiet moments I had learned to cherish. The freedom to be with Him at almost any time I wanted now has to be fought for in the midst of the busyness of my life. If I don’t recognize the war and engage in the battle to be with Him, I become captive to all the activities that demand my attention. It’s a conscious battle that must be fought moment by moment if I want my life to be really significant in Him.

As husbands and fathers, you have the most important battle of your lives facing you every moment of every day. The demands you face and the choices you make will determine how well you are able to carry out your offices. If you don’t recognize that your priority must be to develop an intimate relationship with Father God and fight desperately for it, your life and the lives of those in your care will be greatly affected. Instead of a vibrant, world-overcoming love relationship with your Lord, you will find yourself and those around you counted among the lukewarm masses, unable to lead others to a significant life, the one bought for you at the cross. You’ll be held captive by your activity, unable to break loose from your bondage or help others to overcome their war. Is that what you want?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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