10/24/19 Did You Follow Through?

"How have you responded when I have called you to do something for Me? Have you done what I asked you to do? Have you followed through with what I placed on your heart, no matter how hard the task might be? You should know that all of my requests are tests, so that you can see if I can trust you. I am asking you to be faithful with small amounts, so that I can trust you with much more.
       "Do you see how important it is for Me to have people I can rely upon? As times become more difficult, those who have learned to follow my heart without question will not be distracted by the peril all around them. They will be obedient no matter what. Learn to be obedient to My heart now! Learn to follow through with what you are called to do, no matter how hard it is for you. There is much need! There is much to do! I desire to use you. Learn to live My way now. I will be able to use you in a greater capacity then."
Matthew 25:14-30 NIV
14) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.
15) To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16) The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.
17) So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18) But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19) "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20) The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21) "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22) "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23) "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24) "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25) So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26) "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
27) Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28) " 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
29) For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
30) And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Obedience to the heart of God is very difficult in the beginning. It takes a determination to decide to do things God's way rather than our own. What is amazing, however, is the fact that the more we respond positively, the easier it gets. In fact, after responding to the Lord with many "yeses," it becomes a wonderfully fulfilling lifestyle. We eventually cannot fathom living without doing His will and work. It becomes as important as food and water.

Become my food and water, Lord,

 
Jim Corbett

10/24/19 Your Privilege

Men, do you remember those cute little things that you loved when you first met your wife that now drive you nuts? Remember when you were so much in love that she could do nothing wrong? Remember when all your conversations about her were glittering with accolades and glowing with wondrous praises? Has anything changed?
If things have become complacent in your marriage, you now quietly put up with those quirks, and you have few glorious praises about your wife before others because the glow of her wealth has worn off, she is not wrong - you are. If you minimize her in any way because she has flaws in your eyes, you don't understand your office as a husband.
Here is your privilege, men! You are the only one in this world chosen by God to observe the imperfections of your wife. You are the only one in this world whom He trusts to prayerfully hold those imperfections before Him, so that she might become more like Jesus. He trusts you to never share them with others. God observes your wife as righteous and on her way to holiness. He observes her through the blood of Jesus. He is focused more on who she will become rather than on what she is not.
Satan loves it when married couples pick each other apart by bringing up each other's flaws. Unwise couples fall for his plan, and minimize the impact their marriage could have in the world. Wise men and women understand that the limitations they have the privilege of seeing in their spouse are wonderful opportunities to hold that person before the Lord for his or her best interest. It is one of the highest privileges given in marriage. How are you doing with that?
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett

10/23/19 Available to Comfort

"I desire that you comfort those who grieve. Stand with those who mourn. Be a friend to those in need.  You own My life-giving power. Invest it in those who need My presence in their lives when they are too weak to call upon Me themselves. I will be available to them because of you. When they have no strength to be strong themselves - when there is nothing left in them, when they have no power to come to Me on their own - you carry them to Me in prayer. You point them to My love and mercy. You help them bear the weight of the sorrow that is upon them.  Be a friend. Be their advocate as Jesus is yours."

Exodus 17:12 AMP
But Moses' hands were heavy and grew weary. So [the other men] took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
II Cor. 1:3-4 AMP
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),
4) Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God."
Some time ago, I found out that my very good friends had lost both of their sons in an accident. Their loss was beyond my comprehension. Their grief was overwhelming.  When I talked to them, all I could do was cry with them and promise to hold them up in prayer. My heart broke for their loss. They not only needed the strength of the Lord, but they needed the strength of others to help them make it through that time. Everything else we do as Christians is hypocrisy if we do not walk with others through times like that, being strong for them when they are too weak to bear the weight of their grief. It is the priority of Jesus to be an advocate on their behalf. It is the way that our Father has called each of us to walk.

Live Your strength through me, Lord,

 
Jim Corbett

10/23/19 What Does Your Wife Need?

As a husband, your position is one of service, never dominance. If you really understand Ephesians 5, you will see that you are to lay down your life for your wife in the same way that Jesus laid down His life for you. He gave Himself up for you. In God's eyes, loving your wife as Christ loved the church is the only reason you are to leave your father and mother and be married.
With that in mind, what does your wife need?  I don't mean what does she want, but what does she need to help her become everything she is supposed to be in Christ? What kind of fertile soil are you providing for her to prosper spiritually?
Your marriage relationship is to be an example of the relationship Christ has with the church. The world is supposed to see Jesus through how they perceive your interaction with your wife. How is that working for you? How do your actions toward your wife - caring for her spiritual life, placing her before yourself, communication to others about her - reflect the character of Jesus in front of others?
In general, men, the family is out of order in this world, mostly because men don't comprehend the impact of their actions toward their wives. You as a man need to understand the spiritual implications of your husband to wife interactions. You need to know that interaction not only affects your whole family, it affects how those who are watching you see Jesus.  Your continual awareness of your wife's needs is one of God's ways of you fulfilling your offices of husband and father in His eyes. He considers it good stuff! Do you?
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett

10/21/19 Leading Other to a Loving God

This relationship with God is all about love. While involved in the tangles of the jungle of this world, we so often forget why we serve God. Tasks and demands in this life tend to become priorities. Obligations and responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood sometimes become overwhelming.  All of this can cloud the main reason we serve God. That cloud can make us ineffective in leading others to Him.
Let's remember so that we can tell others. Jesus chose to die because of His great love. God made that covenant with us because of His great love.  We can love others because we have the confidence that we are loved with an unquenchable, reliable love. God's love will never let us go or forsake us. He will always be there for us no matter how many times we violate His love or our commitment to Him.
If you lead those around you in love as a husband and father, you will see incredible results with your efforts to show them Jesus. If you love others even with a modicum of the love that has been given to you, many will be unable to resist the One Who has placed that love in you.  It costs you nothing; give it a shot!
Let's talk more!
Jim Corbett

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