Pray that people will understand the wonder of the Word from the manger to the cross and resurrection.
Pray that all of us will be aware of the needs of others and then do something about it.
Pray that we will have patience to wait on God alone to accomplish all He has given us to do.
One of the reasons the enemy attempts to destroy the offices of husband and father is to eliminate a powerful threat to his plans. He understands that there are no offices closer to the heart of God and no institution more loved by Him than the family.
Far more significant than being a simple breadwinner, God has placed his mighty men in a position to oversee the future men and women of influence from the very beginning of their earthly lives. A man with enough wisdom to be aware of this incredible opportunity also understands the favor Father God has for the servant leader who seeks Him.
There is no more powerful person than an aware, humble steward who continually seeks direction for his family from the lap of His Father God. One, who makes continual visits to the throne room for intimacy, guidance and submission with a loving heart, has all the available power of heaven at his disposal. No weapon formed against the man who has placed himself under the complete Lordship of Jesus Christ will prosper. A man, who submits himself and his family to the Lord and knows the authority he possesses when on his knees in prayer, wields a deathblow to the plans of the enemy. Guaranteed! Is this the life you desire? Maybe not, but it is the one you need.
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett
"The holy life of Jesus that has been designed for you in My presence and bought for you at Calvary is not for the faint of heart. It is not for the self-serving, the materialistic, or the controlling. If you truly want to live out the life that has been planned for you, it will cost you everything. It cost Jesus everything to win it for you; now it's your turn.
"I want all of you. I will take all of you, if you will respond to Me with all of your heart. Submit to My Word. Submit to My ways. Submit to My heart. Submit to My hand of training. I will reproduce the character of Christ in you, so that I can touch others through you.
"You must come to Me completely willing to do My will, whatever the cost to you, just as Jesus did. I will then take who you are and who you are not and eliminate them, replacing them with who you are designed to be. The death of your old ways will bring forth His ways, which are My ways, by the power of My Holy Spirit."
Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV
26) "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
John 1:10-14 NIV
10) He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
11) He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
12) Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -
13) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14) The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 3:30 AMP
He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.]
John 6:57 AMP
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.
Hebrews 10:14 NIV
...because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The pursuit of Jesus usually begins for our good and pleasure. He meets our needs, brings us to salvation, and makes us feel good every time we go to Him. That's good for us. There comes a time, however, that we understand the Father's plan more clearly.
He shows us that this relationship is not only about us and our needs. He brings us to an increasing level of maturity. As we begin to understand His character better, we understand and move with His heart more often. As this action, response, action, response relationship continues, we gain more of His heart, and love more and more as He loves. We also begin to identify with His heart so closely that it becomes our heart.
The closer we get, we actually fall in love with His ways and move from admiration of Him to a love for Him. Getting to know Him and His ways leads to increasing love for Him, because we are changed more and more from being in His presence. Once we know Him, we act in a way that pleases Him because of the love for Him that has been placed in our hearts.
Destroy everything that is of me, Lord,
Jim Corbett
What if your life up to this point has been out of line? What if your family is so fractured that it doesn't even resemble a Christian family? What if your marriage is nothing more than two people going through the motions? What if you've missed it in every aspect of your responsibility to oversee a life-giving, Jesus-serving, people-reaching family? What if your children are serving the world and want nothing to do with you or the Jesus you supposedly serve? What if your life holds little significance regarding the work of God through what you and your family have done?
Today the Lord would say to you, "So what!" What do any of those excuses have to do with the opportunity to change things around completely by the power of the Holy Spirit? All of the above are physical observations. They have nothing to do with what God can do if you, as the holder of God's highest office, choose to repent of your failure to be a proper steward of your family and turn from your sin.
Look at what the Word reveals in James 4:7-10 AMP. So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. 8) Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. 9) [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. 10) Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
So resist the devil by being subject to God. A significant life for you and your family in God's eyes is only a heartfelt repentance away. As a steward, wouldn't it be wise to start today? As you turn your heart in God's direction, your family has a better chance to do the same.
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett
"When Jesus paid for you with His blood, He bought everything. He owns your memories, your present days, and your future plans. He owns your past sins and your eternal future. There is nothing that is not under His blood.
"Some of you walk in the sins of others that have harmed you long ago. Why do you do that, when they have been made powerless by the work of the cross? You now have the right, the command, and the power to forgive anyone and everyone who has done you harm.
"Choose to forgive and I will heal you. Walk in forgiveness and I will set you free. Choose to love as Jesus loves and no one can ever harm you again. Allow Jesus to love through you and you will have an eternal impact on others - even those who hate you - just as He did."
2 Chr. 7:14 NIV
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying "This is the way; walk in it."
John 13:33-34 NIV
33) "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
34) All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another."
I Cor. 7:23 AMP
You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
Gal. 5:13 AMP
For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.
I Pe 4:8 AMP
Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].
How can we say that we follow Jesus, the One Who gave His life so that each of us can be forgiven, and not forgive those who have harmed us? The root sin of unforgiveness is pride. Because that is rarely recognized, it is never really dealt with as such; and we evade submitting the root sin to the total Lordship of Jesus Christ.
I Will Remain in Charge - the Antithesis of Submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ
Anyone harboring unforgiveness toward another has, in essence, determined to hold that sin (real or imagined) over that person and has chosen to be the "lord" of that incident or grieving situation. The dominance and control exercised by the unforgiving party denies all that was promised to God when he/she committed to the Lordship of Jesus in all areas. This area, therefore, remains under the dominance of Satan. Pride caused him to be expelled from the presence of God, and he is delighted when we follow his lead in any area of our lives.
If God has forgiven the person who has offended you but you won't, are you not telling Him that your position is loftier than His? In light of the truth, that's not possible, is it? What do you need to do at this point? God demands that we forgive if we desire to be truly free. He even shows us, in Luke's account of the crucifixion, that Jesus forgave all those who harmed Him; and also the repentant thief just before he died. We must do the same.
Unforgiveness, although often deeply masked by wounds, scars, and self-pity, is one of the greatest causes of weakness in the body of Christ and it will cripple any attempt to draw close to the Lord if left unconfessed. Once this main stronghold is acknowledged and confessed, a tide of healings and freedoms are able to surface and it can be brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Help me to forgive as I have been forgiven, Lord,
Jim Corbett
