4/13/20 Action or Reaction?

Make sure you respond to the call God has for your life. Make sure you don’t choose to take the easier road by living a life that’s different than God intended.

If you follow hard after God, you’ll probably feel like you’re on the outside looking in within the church. I'm not talking about doing weird things that discredit the integrity of the Gospel. I mean that if you follow the example of the life of Jesus and move only when and where God tells you, people will not understand. You may find yourself giving away your possessions, taking a lesser job so you can reach people, or - heaven forbid - trusting God completely for your provision while you go into full time service.

One of the most heart-wrenching sights you'll ever see is the emptiness in the eyes of those who have not responded to the call of God, usually because of fear or their lust for worldly goods. Those desires may be simple things, like security, new clothes, or a new car. They understand deep down that they have heard the call of their Creator and have said "no" when asked to fulfill His desires for their lives. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will satisfy the emptiness of soul that follows.

After saying “no” to the Lord, most of them eventually find themselves working feverishly at some other ministry or filling a myriad of church positions to cover up the emptiness. The end result is almost always an involvement with other weary, often critical people who are also doing good works, attempting to make a difference of some sort to cover their pain, rather than following after God's original plan for their lives. How sad! How grievous to God. Just say yes!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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4/13/20 The Double

“I cherish every moment We get to share together. I have formed you to be with Me. Jesus has restored Our lost relationship that ended because of sin. Now things are as they were intended when Adam was first formed. Come to Me any time you need Me. Come to Me when you are lonely. Come when you hurt. I will always be there for you. I love you.”

Gen. 1:31 NIV

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Psalm 46:1 AMP

God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Isaiah 40:1-2 NIV

1) Comfort, comfort My people, says your God.

2) Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

 

In the Isaiah verse above the phrase “…has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” used to confuse and frighten me until someone explained what the “double” meant. In times past, when someone had a debt he couldn’t pay, he would post his debts on the most prominent part of his property for all to see.

Part of the custom of posting your bills on the front gate was a practice known as “the double.” This meant that everyone who saw the posting had several choices they could make. A person could pass by and ignore the need; or he could fold the paper from bottom to top - in essence “doubling” it - meaning that he would take on the debt as if it were his own and pay it for the other person.”

When God gives His double, He forgives completely. When He gave us our “double” at the cross with Jesus, all separation from Him was paid in full. We are now free from all debts, sins, and separation, fully restored to our intended place with Him.

I praise You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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Stirring the Kettle; Quieting the Spirit

Such amazing times! Never in my lifetime have I seen so many people—people who have always spent their lives trying to control their situations—finally understand they are absolutely not in control!  The self-made, the God deniers, the overworked provider—whatever place anyone has in society—are all realizing that their personal world has become out of their control, literally overnight!

I am convinced Father God is shaking up all of the gods people have been serving. He has said “enough” with a simple whisper that has changed the world, causing those who are wise to listen to what He's saying.

Those who haven’t listened to His still, small voice ringing in their ears will continue to believe that things will return to normal. Those who make their priority His priorities—now that He has their attention—will find wonder in everything that happens from now on.

4/11/20 The Bad Guys

As men, we are taught to hold on to our own safety and make sure no one takes our stuff. Some time ago, the Lord startled me while I was in one of those quiet-almost-sleepy-could-really-be-dozing kind of prayer times. His voice was quiet and full of love. He said, "I want you to know that I love your most aggressive enemies as much as I love you. There is no one on the face of this earth that I wish would perish. I want you to pray for all those who hate Me. In fact, I want you to pray for anyone who will hate My children. Pray that they will be able to share My love."

Then things got personally serious. "I want you to pray for those who will kill you. I don't mean that someone is going to do that, necessarily; but I want you to have the heart that would care about their salvation more than you care about your own life." By now, I was awake. Pray for someone who hated me enough to kill me! Love others - even the bad guys?

The Lord then reminded me of His actions on the cross. He had words of forgiveness for those who were spitting on Him and an attitude of great love for those who drove the nails in His hands. He told me to do the same with anyone who came against me. It was enough to remind me this life is not centered around my well-being. What a novel thought!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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4/11/20 Stop Worrying, Start Living

“Do you know that I have faith in you? I have faith that you will become all that you are supposed to be in Christ. It’s true. Faith in Me, and what I have done for you through Jesus, is the cornerstone of your life. But too often you forget that I have faith in you. I have supreme confidence that everything that needs to be accomplished in you, to complete My plan for your life, will be accomplished. You can count on it.

First of all, I know that My love is so strong that you will never leave Me. Because you will stay, I will always continue My work in you. Next, I will never give up on you. No matter how many times you fail, I will always bring you back to Me. My holding power will cause you to turn from your sin every time you fail and eventually renounce it for good. Finally, I know the beginning from the end of your life. I have formed you in the womb, I have birthed your new spirit; and I have orchestrated your completion process.

If that is not enough for you to rejoice, I also choose to bless you. I have placed My blessing on your life. Think of it. You have been called. You are being formed into completion, which means that you are going to eventually represent My Son properly. Plus, you are blessed in your comings and your goings because you are Mine.

From this day, I ask you to stop worrying, and start living your new life in Me. Have faith in My faith. I have My hand on you, I love you. My faith will sustain you. Receive My blessing and live My life in you out loud.”

Hebrews 13:5b AMP

…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

Isaiah 51:1-2 NIV

1) Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

2) look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many.

 

I often think about the heroes of the Bible. I think of Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Deborah, the Prophets, the Apostles, Paul, those who died in the arena; and so many more, too numerous to count in fact. Often I focus on what they did and lift them in high esteem, probably much higher than they would desire. When I lift them up, I am forgetting one very important thing. They didn’t do what was done. God did it in them. He called them for that specific time, completed His plan in them; and then blessed their lives. His faith, working and dwelling in them, allowed all things to happen.

In their day, among their friends, I’m sure that few, if any, ever thought that we would be modeling our lives after theirs. Their daily failings, their very human doubts and their questioning attitudes, more than likely clouded their ability to believe that they would ever really amount to anything. What most of them - like most of us - probably forgot to enter into the equation of their lives was the promise of God to empower them. Without it, we would never have heard of these heroes of the faith.

God has not changed. He is still in the business of making ordinary people into extraordinary followers of Christ. Should the Lord tarry, someone will be observing the lives of Jenny, Joe, Bob, Alice, Doug, Sue, Joanne, Ted, and so on and so on. They will see the necessity of following Jesus, because they will see Him in them and you. Father will have done it once again!

Submitting to His hand, so that Jim can be in there someplace,

Jim Corbett

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