Category: From Our Fathers Heart

“You need to walk in the forgiveness that has been provided for you at the cross. If you have repented of your sins, turned from all that you once were, and surrendered fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, I have forgotten your offenses. They no longer exist as far as I am concerned. Now you must walk in freedom. Do not allow the enemy of your soul to rob you of the joy of what Jesus has done for you. Forgive others as you have been forgiven. Love as you are loved. Jesus has set you free. Tell others of the gift you have been given, so that they can also be free.”

Psalm 103:10-12 NIV 

10) He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

11) For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

12) as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

John 8:36 NIV

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Gal. 5:1 NIV 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

 

A while ago, I was tormented by the sins that I committed before I came to the Lord for His forgiveness. My life was dark for many years.  Even though I knew that it was an attack of the enemy to place me in bondage and fear, my thoughts could have become real enough to subject me once again to all the bondages from which I’ve been freed had I continued to dwell there. I believe that a spirit of fear was attempting to hinder me from remembering the mercy my Lord has given me.

I needed to go to His Word and remember what Jesus has done and why He did it. His Word allowed me to walk out from under the weight of sins that would condemn me - those sins committed before I knew of and surrendered to His saving grace and those sins I have confessed since then. The truth of God’s Word allowed me to remember that it is for freedom that Christ has set me free.

Help me remember Your Word and walk in Your freedom, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that you are building up a case against yourself when there is evidence of Christ’s love in your life? The world hates Who He is. When they see Him in you, they will hate you. Soon those who love Him will pay a price for that love. It may require all that you have. It may require your life. If there is any evidence that Jesus is in your life, you will be the enemy of those who hate Him. Are you ready for that kind of sacrifice? Are you ready to show them Who He really is by loving them with His kind of love when they have only murder in their hearts for you? Now is the time to prepare for those times. They are coming soon!”

Psalm 3:1-6 AMP

1) Lord, How they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

2) Many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

3) But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4) With my voice I cry to the Lord and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

5) I lay down and slept, I awakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

Psalm 46:1 AMP

God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Matt. 5:11-12 NIV

11) “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

 

Most of us go to God for the “desperate” needs in our lives, like paying bills or that person at work that is not being nice to us. We forget about the saints who live under dire circumstances, such as prisons or persecutions, all over the world. We choose to forget that this life in Christ is distasteful to those who love evil.

As this season comes to an end, it would be good to understand that we are in a time of training for evil times ahead. To claim that we are immune to peril because we love Jesus is foolishness. Any reasonable, thinking human being can see that darkness is becoming more prevalent and great darkness is soon to come. Now is the time for spiritual preparation. It will be very important to know our God intimately and to gain the heart of Jesus for when great evil invades our lives.

Prepare my heart now, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You must become devoted to Me and My Word. In fact, I want your whole life to be considered a devoted thing, something having no life of its own; but existing only through and for Jesus. Build up a resistance to criticism as you sell out. Harden your heart to the sirens of the world. Soften it to every beat of His heart. Walk only where you are invited to walk with Me. Avoid anything that resembles the world.

"As you distance yourself from those things that desire to sway you away from a devoted life, you will find the true peace and happiness that comes from an honest, upright relationship with Me. You will experience unparalleled joy that is not contingent upon your circumstances and situations. You will have overcome the world and its ways. You will finally have peace, the kind of peace that I have always intended for you to have.”

Gal. 2:20a NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Gal. 5:24 AMP

And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

Gal. 6:14 NIV

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Phil 3:10-11 AMP 

10) [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11) That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

 

Paul’s devotion to the Gospel is heartwarming. As you study the verses in Philippians 3 above, try to see through the words and into the heart of this devoted man of God. There was no compromise for him. He was completely sold out to the desire of knowing his Master and Savior.  He wanted to know his Lord intimately. He wanted to understand exactly what had occurred at the cross and the resurrection.  He wanted to benefit from the power of the risen Christ, not for his own good; but for the sake of being changed into the image of his Lord. He wanted it all for the sake of the Gospel.

This relationship with Jesus is much more than going to church, giving to missions, praying, and talking about the things of God. It is a road trip to the complete death of our flesh. It is also an incredible journey to knowing our Lord and Savior intimately, if we choose to sell out completely to Him.

I believe that most of the church functions on the perimeter of the kind of relationship that Father God intends for us. Most of us do only as much as it takes to know that we are “safe” and on our way to heaven, when there is so much more available if we would only sell out completely. The thought of compromise never entered into Paul’s heart and mind when it came to His relationship with Jesus.  It shouldn’t enter into ours either.

Remove compromise from my life, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that when you truly find Me in your heart, you will find Me everywhere? Maybe you have forgotten this basic truth. When I am the reason and focus of all that you do, there is really no room for fear, confusion, doubt, anxiousness, or any other emotion that would hinder you from seeing My presence on everything in your world. Remember the “first love” time when Jesus was your everything? Remember the brightness of love that you felt? Recall how you felt about your needs and fears. In fact, try to recall anything that could move you to distraction. There wasn’t anything, was there? That kind of insight and freedom is the heritage of anyone who allows Me to totally consume his heart through the cross.

"Circumstances, situations, peril of any kind - even death - have no hold on you nor bearing on your decisions and actions. Obedience and continuous fellowship with Me allow you to rise above everything that would normally hamstring you and immobilize your life. I planned it that way. I am your safety. You have been made to dwell with Me in all that you do. When you leave My presence, you become fair game for the enemy of your soul.

"Observe your life. Determine to recognize any areas that you have allowed to become independent of Me. Those areas will one day cause you great harm. Bring them back under My Lordship. When you do, you will have postured yourself to flow with Me in absolute freedom, rising above your carnal limitations. You will be able to see everything from My perspective. From here, there is nothing that can hinder us in anything We decide to do together. I have created everything and everything submits to My hand. When you dwell with Me, you will thoroughly understand that.”

Amos 4:13 NIV

He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth –  the Lord God Almighty is his name.

Acts 4:29-31 AMP

29) And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly,

30) While You stretch out Your hand to cure and to perform signs and wonders through the authority and by the power of the name of Your holy Child and Servant Jesus.

31) And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage.

 

If God is not who He says He is, we are all in a whole lot of trouble. If, however, He is all that He is shown to be in His Word, we are the most privileged beings ever created by His hand. We have the astounding heritage of receiving unlimited interaction and fellowship with Him. From the safety of His presence, we have been formed to hold His presence wherever we go and in whatever we do. If we choose to accept it, we are untouchable by anything because of His indwelling in us.

One of the hazards of having a calling as a watchman is the awareness of the world around me and its function in accordance with the Word of God. Continual in-depth study of the times and seasons and their implications brings the Biblical consequences of items in the daily news clear and up close.

As important as that is, there are hazardous possibilities that accompany that kind of mission. It is very easy to get my eyes off of the Lord and focus on the very apparent dangers that are unfolding every day, especially in this end-time season.

Without the power of the Lord to continually pull me back to His Word - and the reason, comfort, and freedom that it imparts, bringing His presence and purpose back in focus - I would remain locked in a continual state of fear, which would discolor everything I do. Too often, I am distracted for too long, fluctuating back and forth from freedom to fear when some issue is highlighted by the Lord. It is not a lack of faith in my God whom I know is faithful; it is a misdirection of focus because of the overwhelming responsibility that I feel. Only as my Lord directs me back to Himself and His Word can I break loose, and once again flow completely in His freedom, knowing that in Him there is no fear and no urgency other than His urgency to bring souls into the kingdom.

Needing to “tuck in” every moment,

Jim Corbett

“It is only by My grace that you have even enough strength to breathe. It is also by My grace that you can do unlimited exploits for Me if I call them into existence. As you take your life from Me, I give you My life. Think on that. Jesus died so that We could have fellowship. He lives to bring His life to that fellowship. You can do all things through Him by the power of My Holy Spirit. It is a work that is continually renewed in you. Why waste one more moment walking in your own ways? Choose My ways so that I can apply My grace to them. My ways are far above your ways. So much more could be accomplished in you and through you if only you would submit fully.”

John 14:12 NIV

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.”

2 Cor. 5:20a NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

 

A spirit of righteousness sees others as God sees them.  Someone functioning in a spirit of righteousness is always seeing and loving others as God does. Our Lord looked at everyone with one purpose in mind: He wanted them to be with Him for eternity. It didn’t matter who they were, or what they had done, especially to Him.  He could only see them in love.

In His heart, because He was righteous, it was impossible not to love.  He even loved others deeply on His way to the cross, because He knew that some of those who were crucifying Him would be with Him in heaven because of what He was about to do for them.

His righteous heart could not see their sin, only their need. While He hung there bleeding, He still was aware of the needs of those around Him. Looking left and right, He dealt with each person in His Father’s love and willing acceptance, if they chose to accept them.

Looking to His mother, He could see her with spiritual eyes even then, and sensing her sorrow and loss, made provision for her needs. Looking to the mocking crowd in His righteous, bridal love, He could only ache for their need of forgiveness and cry out on their behalf.  Even now, in righteousness, He is praying for you and me, still looking past Himself to us.  How can we not follow Him?

I am often in awe when I think of how Jesus could function righteously in all circumstances. It astounds me to think that part of His covenant promise and provision for us is to do likewise. It seems so remote, and at times even hopeless, as I see my sin.  In those times, the only hope that I do have is His Word, and I can rely on that. He told me that if I repent of who I am not, He would make me who He is.

I choose Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett