10/01/19 A Great Lesson

10/01/19 A Great Lesson

I remember the time my dad came to me at 2:00 AM with a spare tire in his hand, because I had burned the rubber off my own tires after about two months. I had a flat about a mile from home, and I woke him up to take me back where I left my car. I was sure that I was really in for it this time. He had commented on me driving foolishly for a long time, so I knew this was incredible fuel for a fatherly "I told you so" kind of lesson.
What surprised me, though, was the fact that he said nothing that night, or even after that I can recall. He didn't have to. I knew how wrong I had been. Now, I'm not going to say that I changed my ways immediately since I went through many sets of tires before I finally wised up; but that instance had a great impact on me none-the-less.
My dad's quiet assistance at that time said more than any lecture he could have given me. He simply served because he was my dad. In his own way, he said out loud that he loved me without saying a word in a situation where I deserved many words.
As a father, it might be good to take a thorough look at the way you are directing your children into wholeness. Are you continually correcting them, or are you giving them some space to learn some valuable lessons in ways that allow God to work on their hearts? Sometimes the most is said when no words are involved. It gives you time to pray for their best interests, too.
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett

10/01/19 Look Around

10/01/19 Look Around

"Why do you have preconceived notions as to how I am going to answer your prayers? Most of you miss many of My answers, because you are looking for something other than what I have provided for you. You need to look around and try to see My answers to your requests that may already be in your midst. Remember, I always give Myself. That means that My answers come in forms that have to do with strengthening your faith or solidifying your resolve to serve Me.
 
"Take the time to observe the patterns of your past requests and compare them to how they were answered. Learn My heart. Learn My ways. You will be surprised at how you have missed some wonderful answers simply because you did not recognize them."
 
            Matt. 13:54-58 AMP
            54) And coming to His own country [Capernaum], He taught in their synagogue so that they were amazed with bewildered wonder, and said, Where did this Man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

 

            55) Is not this the carpenter's Son? Is not His mother called Mary? And are not His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
            56) And do not all His sisters live here among us? Where then did this Man get all this?
            57) And they took offense at Him [that is, they were repelled and hindered from acknowledging His authority, and caused to stumble]. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.
            58) And He did not do many works of power there, because of their unbelief (their lack of faith in the divine mission of Jesus).
            John 1:45-46 AMP  
            45) Philip sought and found Nathanael and told him, We have found (discovered) the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about - Jesus from Nazareth, the [legal] son of Joseph!
            46) Nathanael answered him, [Nazareth!] Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Come and see!"
            II Cor. 10:10 AMP
            For they say, His letters are weighty and impressive and forceful and telling, but his personality and bodily presence are weak, and his speech and delivery are utterly contemptible (of no account).
 
 
            There are no knights in shining armor, no new redeemers, and no super-spiritual appearing people that are going to come to our rescue. If the Lord sends people when we pray for help, they will point us to Jesus. They will be ordinary, common, everyday people who have spent time with God and have words from the lap of our Father. They will come from common places and have common backgrounds. They will also have an uncommon relationship with the Lord.

 

            Most every answer of God will be a challenge to have us draw closer to the Father in heaven. They will show us the coldness of our own hearts or our dead religion, challenging us to be broken before the Lord. Instead of God changing someone else or our circumstances, He has been known to first change us, allowing us to see our situations through His eyes before things change outwardly. God is in the business of refining His people to become more and more like Jesus. He sometimes uses our requests to show us our needs and improper heart motives, and then reveal His kind of answers.
 
Let me see with Your eyes, Lord,
 
Jim Corbett

9/30/19 Will You Hate?

"Do you know that there are people living at this moment who have the seed of hatred in their hearts, waiting to inflict their fury on My people? They will attempt to destroy you simply because you belong to Me. Did you also know that while they are being trained to murder by their father, I am training you to love them? I want you to pray for them. In fact, I want you to pray for the person who hates you enough to kill you and those you love.
 
"These are My closing hours. This is the time for which all of heaven has been waiting. It is preparing for wondrous, predicted events. Your earth is groaning as if it were getting ready for childbirth. I need bridal-hearted warriors to function as Jesus would, not self-focused hypocrites. Which are you? For what are you in training? Are you even in training in your heart?
 
"If your heart is completely Mine, nothing is more important to you than submitting to My will. If it is not, you may one day hate just as your enemy does. You will join the ranks of those who demand that I relieve their pain and remove them from their circumstances, instead of acquiring what is needed to overcome and bring others to Me. One day, you may even curse Me just as My enemies do."
  
Luke 6:45-46 AMP
            45) The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.

 

            46) Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?
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?
Luke 12:19-21 NIV
            19) 'And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry." '
            20) "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
            21) "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
            I am more and more convinced that there are going to be many, many very surprised people who have answered an altar call and have continued to live for themselves, all masked in the cloak of Christianity. I am also deeply concerned for those teachers who have allowed them to remain in their complacency.
            At this very moment, Father God is calling for a holy people, a generation who has heard the call to do whatever it takes to gain and function in the bridal heart of Jesus. There is no other call out there for those who claim to be Christians.
 

            Make emulating You my only priority, Lord,

 
Jim Corbett

9/30/19 Your Weakness, His Strength

So many of us guys have been taught that failure in any area of our lives is a horrible thing! Most of us were taught that not having all the answers means weakness, and weakness is a bad thing. If you really study the Bible, you will find that only in our weakness is God able to prove Himself strong to us.
On my tombstone, I would like the words, "Here lies a man who understood his desperate need of God." I want everyone to know that I understood that without a moment by moment need of my Father in heaven I could do nothing.
The most important, most powerful man in history was Jesus. Far from being weak, He said that His every move was ordained by His Father. He did nothing of Himself. That's a full understanding of where the power to walk in the kingdom of heaven on this earth came from. His submission brought heavenly power down to this earth.
I know this may sound wrong to some of you fathers, but sometimes it's good to need to seek help in a situation in front of your kids. To do so shows them how to do the same, especially when you seek help from Jesus. Their learning how to go to Jesus is the best lesson you could ever teach. Would you be willing to be in need so you could be used by the Lord to teach them that lesson?
Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

9/28/19 Your Obedience Helps Others

As a father and husband, if you are where you're supposed to be with God, then those in your circle of influence have a much better chance of being where they're supposed to be. It stands to reason that if you are setting an example of obedience to God and make it comfortable for your family to walk in obedience to God, they will be able to search His heart for their lives.
Conversely, if you are going about your days moving in your own thoughts and abilities, never really understanding the importance of finding His heart and His will, they will do the same simply because it's a family pattern you've established.  Is it any wonder that so many families are fractured and directionless as far as God is concerned? Is it any wonder that most families will not be prepared to face the challenges on the horizon and will seek direction from other sources than the Lord?
Your job, dads, is to provide an atmosphere of dependence on the Lord in every area of your life and each situation you face. In doing so, you will be allowing those around you to do the same. That dependence is the only place of faultless direction and powerful wisdom available to any of them to face every challenge, even when you're not around. Cultivating the habit of seeking God for direction and following that direction in absolute obedience is the best gift you can give to those around you. It's the only place of real safety for all of you.
Jesus loved doing only His Father's will. If you and your wife love walking in obedience to Him, your children will have the freedom to follow His will, too. That's a very good thing! Will you walk in obedience to help your family do likewise?
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett

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