12/19/19 Love Deeply

"I am moved when you love deeply. It is the heart of Jesus in action. Your caring for others with reckless abandon is the way He loved. He had no fear of the consequences of His love. In fact, His love for you drove Him to the cross. It delights Me when you do the same.

"Love those who hate you. Love those who do not know how to love you back. More than likely it will cost you. When it does, you come to Me. I will heal you and equip you to love again. It is My way. It is the way of the cross. It is the way to My heart. It is the way to freedom for you. It is the way to real life!"

II Ch. 16:9 NIV

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him..."

Matthew 5:43-45 NIV

43) "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44) But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

II Cor. 5:20a AMP

So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us.

 

When was the last time you became passionate about the Lord's plans? For that matter, when was the last time the Lord's plans for your life took priority over the other demands you face each day?

God is clearly requiring each of us to make Him our priority. Still, most of us agonize over the demands of simply living out each day - paying the rent, providing for food, etc. To stop, even for a day, and spend it entirely with the Lord should He ask us to do so would be beyond comprehension for some of us. We are convinced that the answer is heart commitment.

Merry and I believe that each and every one of us, who call ourselves Christians, must make a choice to live Christ's life passionately throughout our very ordinary days. We are to approach the tasks and the people placed before us with His kind of zeal and unquestioning love, presenting every one of them as an offering to the Lord for His glory. We are convinced that this life is not so much about what we do as it is about the One for whom we are doing it.

If everything that we become involved in is truly offered to the Lord and placed under His Lordship, the fluff will fall away and the eternal purposes of God will become priorities to us. Living Christ's passionate life unto the Lord will change us and those around us who are looking for answers. Take our stuff and replace it with Your stuff, Lord.

Give me Your heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

12/18/19 Seasons

There are seasons in our lives that make us change or allow us to change either our direction or our way of living. If properly addressed, each season can make the difference between success or failure, sometimes even life or death.

There is a season upon us that requires critical attention. Because of political, social, and physical pressures, husbands and fathers will soon be traveling uncharted waters. Never before in the history of this land - and even this world - has there been a more critical time to understand, prepare, and act, if we and our families are to survive the challenges on the horizon. Soon, our lack of preparation may cause us to be wide-eyed and out of answers. When those we love look to us for guidance and direction, we will have none unless we turn to the Lord with diligence now.

In the season that is fast approaching, only spiritual prowess, an intimate relationship with our Father, and a clear understanding of His plan for our lives and the lives of our families will allow us to overcome the enemy of all we hold dear. As a Christian man overseeing a Christian family, we have been given a mandate to prepare properly for any season, so that those we are stewards of have an environment where they can prosper spiritually, too. How prepared are you for the challenging season that could be upon us at any moment?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

12/18/19 Time Well Spent

        "Have you ever considered each moment I give you to be a treasure? I do! You will be called to account for them. None of them can ever be redeemed. Jesus died for your right to spend them with Me. Do you now see how valuable they are? Spend them wisely. Dedicate each moment of your day to Me. Use them for My work. They are limited. When your allotted time is used up and I call you home, will I be able to say, "Well done"?

        "Repent now of all the time you have wasted. Begin to cherish your every breath. I have called them into being. I own each one of them. Use them wisely!"

Psalm 127:1 AMP

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps a city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

Proverbs 20:24a AMP

Man's steps are ordered by the Lord....

Isaiah 2:22 AMP

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

Hebrews 12:12-13 NLB

12) So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs.

13) Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.

 

Because of our daily struggles and pursuits, we forget that every breath we take is important to God. Daily life often overshadows the importance of God's plans for us. We forget that He has given us limited time to do His work and that we will be called to account for the time we have been given on this earth.

How do you plan your days? Is every moment dedicated to God? Does He have complete charge of your every breath, or do you go about your business as if there will be no accounting of your time? You have been bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus. Isn't it time to make each moment of your life count?

I give them all to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

12/17/19 The Trojan Horse

We're all familiar with the mythological story of the giant wooden horse that was left outside the walls of Troy and mistakenly identified by its citizens as a gift. Totally undiscerning, they brought it inside the city walls, making themselves completely vulnerable to attack. The Greek warriors inside the horse waited for the opportune moment, and then made a beeline for the city gates and opened them to let in the rest of the troops. End result: Troy is overrun and destroyed.

One of the most insidious measures used by the enemy in his attempt to destroy our marriages, wreak havoc in our families, and even weaken our walk with the Lord is busyness. It is a Trojan horse that incessantly tries to creep into our lives, sometimes without notice. It takes diligence and a watchful mentality to catch it before it is able to kill, steal, or destroy.

Urgency, other people's agendas, job deadlines, church responsibilities, good causes, free time, etc. constantly surround us. All these things can be worthy of our attention, but not at the expense of neglecting our time with the Lord. When we become wrapped up in busyness, we lose our perspective on what really counts the most, and the enemy usually has little trouble defeating us in crucial areas of our lives.

Long ago, a very wise person shared with me that our lives are a series of decisions between the urgent and the important. The urgent looks very much like the important, but may have nothing to do with God's plan for our lives. The important things are those things God desires us to address. They further the kingdom of God, glorify Jesus, reinforce family values, and undergird children who on their way to living significant lives.

Isn't it time to become aware of any Trojan horses that have been sent your way to kill, steal, and destroy? Isn't it time to practice discerning the difference between those things that are important and those things that are simply urgent? Better yet, isn't it best to spend time with the Lord to know which things He's asked you to participate in on His behalf?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

12/17/19 Pouring into Others with Compassion

        "I love honest, full relationships. Jesus spent His life, so that you could be restored and with Me forever. I designed marriage, so that your life could be full, so that you could have a companion, someone who notices your life and cherishes it. Make this relationship your priority on earth.

        "I also build holy alliances with fellow believers. These alliances are formed by Me, so there is someone to walk with you in seasons of your life. They are ordained in heaven and built by My Holy Spirit. Observe who they are in your life.

        "Cherish those I bring to you. Find those who are trustworthy. Invest in them. Pour into their lives as Jesus poured into yours. When I add My presence to any relationship, it thrives and flows with the integrity of My love. It honors Me."

Eph. 5:21 AMP

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Phil. 2:1-5 NIV

1) If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

2) then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

3) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4) Each of you should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

 

A person walking in a spirit of compassion takes on the needs of others as if they were his own. There is no separation between a person's needs and his desires for those needs to be met in someone else's life. It is the spirit of God giving His kind of compassion for another.

Teach me to love those I am given by You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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