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4/16/20 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 andcontinues 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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This is Big and it’s Spiritual

Because of our surrender to the Lordship of Jesus and being made new spiritual creatures, our privilege is to observe all that comes our way from a spiritual perspective. We are to look past what we see with our eyes and zero in on what God is doing.

So, what do we do with the loud voices that proclaim supposedly wise stuff with great zeal? We go to Father God and make our home in the spiritual kingdom of heaven with Him, as we wait for opportunities to help those who don't know Him.

4/15/20 Nothing More Important

We live in a throw-away society where products are geared toward planned obsolescence, newer is supposedly better; and why fix it when you can throw it away and get a new one. Well, that’s certainly not the way God wants us to approach our marriages and families. He asks us to do everything we can to monitor, rescue, rebuild, and help repair the lives we steward as husbands and fathers. He calls us to do it mainly on our knees.

When the enemy attempts to harm those we steward, we must engage in spiritual warfare on behalf of those he’s attempting to destroy with everything we can muster by the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re to minimize other priorities and fight on their behalf until the war is won. Other than our personal relationship with Christ, there should be nothing more important to us than maintaining Christ-like relationships within our families and engaging in the restoration of either our marriages or our children when they are in peril.

As you appraise your marriage and the lives of your children, ask the Lord to show you His perspective. Ask Him to allow you to see them as He sees them. Do they have need of your spiritual intervention? Is it time for you to say, as Paul did, that you are as if in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in others? In your case, that would be your relationship with your wife and the welfare of your children. Is your approach as intense as Paul’s was? It should be!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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4/15/20 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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Focus Focus Focus

As things unfold and opinions run rampant, it is paramount that we as believers do not lose our focus. What are we called to do in this world? Who are we to become for a world that is wide-eyed with fear? Where are we to really focus so that we walk in wisdom rather than theory? How do we become equipped to not only weather the rising storms, but to quiet them by the power of the Holy Spirit?

His Name is Jesus and He is still Lord over everything! We know it; now we have a chance to live it out loud over the deafening noise of half truths and opinions.

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