3/21/20 A Man of God

“He’s a man of God.” There is no higher honor one can pay another than to call him a man of God. In a world of people seeking reputation or attempting to place their mark on society, this man stands out. Think of the heart joy you would have if your wife or children were asked to give a description of you and said those words: “My husband is a man of God!” Or, “My father is a man of God!

Seeking the heart in which God functions is a difficult road. It means pursuing a crucified life. It means you consider everyone else before you consider your own needs, just like Jesus did. It means your wife is fully aware that she is placed in high esteem in your eyes, and you would lay down your life for her. It means your children can rest assured that every decision you make that involves them is for their best interests.

If you want to be known for something, seek to be known as a man of God. It happens when you decide you desire no reputation. It happens when God is your only purpose for living. It happens when you consider everyone else before you consider your own needs. It’s a name others may label you, but it can only be given to you by God and acquired from your knees!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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3/21/20 A Never-Ending Testimony

       “Your life, if lived for Jesus, brings glory to Me. That you know! What you may not know is that it testifies of His life, death, and resurrection for all future eternities. You will always and forever be an example of His completed work. When you surrender to Him, you are doing much more than securing your salvation; you are part of a never-ending testimony of eternal witnesses to the power of the cross. Your witness also shows Who I am.”

Ephesians 3:10-12 AMP

10) [The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere.

11) This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord.

12) In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

As precious as you are to God, all of this is not only about you. It is also about the eternal plans of God and their impact on heavenly beings.

When the angelic beings fell, they were given no mercy. They were cast from the presence of God, experiencing firsthand His boundless power and authority.

At present, some of those who remain with Him can only lie prostrate before Him crying “Holy, Holy, Holy,” because He is so magnificent. Others, especially those who were cast from His presence, to this day understand His power and authority. To them, He is undeniably Almighty God.

Enter puny mankind! Limited to functioning within the five senses, frail in comparison to even the lowest order of angel, incredibly ignorant concerning spiritual things, and so on and so on - you get the picture…

Since the cross, when the veil before the Holy of Holies was ripped in two, puny mankind - who previous to this time was truly on the outside looking in - has the kind of access to God that the angelic creation will never have. We can now come directly into the presence of God anytime we desire to go there and are accepted as if Jesus Himself entered. (Stop and ponder that, and then ask yourself why in the world we don’t spend the majority of our time in His presence. That is how limited and puny our thinking is! Of course, the Lord did say that His thoughts and ours are two different things, and this example certainly proves it. We settle for so little, and it must grieve the heart of God how often we miss what He’s made available.)

Because of the covenant that Jesus established, we go into the presence of God in His Name, not our own. God accepts us just as He would accept Jesus because we were “in” Jesus when covenant was made. After Jesus died, we were the full recipients of His kind of access to the Father.

To the angels, God providing this access for us was only one of the many facets of God that they had never seen. Each time He flows His wondrous privileges toward us, they see other facets about Him in which they are not allowed to participate.

Help me to never minimize the wonder of Your cross, Lord,

Jim Corbett

3/20/20 The Fight

Are you fighting for your marriage? Are you standing in the gap for your children as they war with the world and its ways? You should be!

I am privileged to have a wonderful daughter who’s definitely aware of what’s going on around her. She has a heart for the lost and hurting, and notices the desires and mindsets of people, especially those her age. Often she comes to me deeply concerned for her generation. She’s seeing the result of the indoctrination some of them have received over the years, and how they are now exchanging the truth for a lie. Many are lost and terribly confused regarding direction for their lives.

I’m also honored to have been given a calling to work with men and their marriage relationships. It amazes me how much warfare you and I, as husbands and fathers, encounter as we daily endeavor to simply keep our families together, let alone work with them so they can come to enthusiastically serve the Lord.

Make no mistake; we are at war. It may not be visible at times; but be assured that the enemy is waiting at every turn, attempting to control each decision we make and marshaling his forces to win in every challenge we face. He is out to destroy our marriages and make our children numb to the things of God. Fight from your knees!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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3/20/20 A Fickle Heart

        “My children, you need to check your allegiance. Make sure that you have not become hired hands rather than the bond servants you once were. I need to trust you. If I should remove your “wages,” would you lose faith in all of My promises? Would you call Me “unfaithful” and turn to your own resources for your provision, if I tarried in My responses to your petitions? A fickle heart will cause you, and those around you, to wander wide-eyed and drooling when times become extremely difficult.

        "Instead of being a reliable guide for those who need to see My dependability when they have no answers of their own, you will also falter. Turn back to the simple trust of first love. Determine in your heart that you are with Me fully, no matter what the world around you turns to.

        "I am waiting for true, steadfast bond servants. Hired hands will seek other sources for comfort if my “payment” does not suit them. Do not become that kind of fool.”

Isaiah 8:11-14 AMP

11) For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12) Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.

13) The Lord of hosts – regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].

14) And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him];…

John 10:11-13 AMP

11) I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

12) But the hired servant (he who merely serves for wages) who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away. And the wolf chases and snatches them and scatters [the flock].

13) Now the hireling flees because he merely serves for wages and is not himself concerned about the sheep [cares nothing for them].

 

A hired hand works for someone who pays the highest wage and serves with limited allegiance. He is reliable to the one who pays him as long as his wages are paid, and he is required to only work within the limits of his work contract. At any given opportunity, he accepts higher offers, more suitable work, or easier working conditions.

A bond servant, on the other hand, has chosen absolute servanthood to his master, no matter what is required of him. His motivation for service is love - not the amount of wage, working conditions, or difficulty of the task. There are no options to his commitment. There is no price too high to pay. His term of service is eternal, his commitment unwavering, his trustworthiness absolute.

Without knowing it, it is easy to slip into the “hired hand” mentality with God. The simple act of taking over when God’s answers are delayed or doing it ourselves when He seems to have waited too long to do something we need, all deny the bond servant’s heart of absolute faith and trust in our Lord.

Forgive me for acting like a hired hand so often, Lord,

Jim Corbett

3/19/20 Don’t Be Deceived

In today’s world, there are many opportunities to see the deception many people function in. People fight for things that are firmly against God’s Word with rabid zeal, unable to see the impact their ideas have - especially in eternity. As a husband and father, you must know God and His Word, or you will be deceived and become a blind guide for your family.

The most fascinating - and at the same time most horrendous - thing about deception is its insidiousness. I apologize for sending a two dollar word your way, but it makes the point so well. The word "insidious" has several definitions - awaiting a chance to entrap; harmful but enticing; having a gradual and cumulative effect; and developing so gradually as to be well established before becoming apparent.

Satan is no fool. Without God on our side, we are no match for him. Deception is a major weapon in his hands and all you need to do is look around you to see how well it's working - and that's in regard to what you can see. Don't be fooled; you are not invulnerable. I believe one of the enemy's tactics is to throw a blatant deception your way, which you catch; and then sneak an imperceptible (extremely slight, gradual or subtle) one through the back door.

It is only the grace of God and His keeping power that saves us from deception. Yes, we must know our God and His Word intimately, but we must also have childlike faith that He will reveal the deception to us - sometimes before and sometimes after the fact, depending on what He wants to teach us. It's our only hope.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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