Category: From Our Fathers Heart

“Purity has a purpose. The pure in heart will be able to understand My heart. You will be able to gain insight into Who I am and why I do what I do. As you remove all of the clutter that darkens your reasoning process, you will be able to move closer to Me. We will move in concert. I will be able to trust you with more of My plans, for you will desire to implement them with honest motives. Come to Me today to be cleansed from everything that the world has to offer. Come to gain My heart in everything you do. If you see with My heart, you will see Me and your world much differently.”

Ps. 24:3-4 AMP

3) Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place?

4) He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or to what is false, nor sworn deceitfully.

Matthew 5:8 NIV

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Luke 12:1 NIV

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

Phil.4:8 AMP

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].

 

One year, Merry and I had the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl with some fellow believers. Actually, we watched very little of the game, but had a delightful time simply being with those who loved the Lord and are pursuing Him with all of their hearts.

When half-time came, the so called “entertainment” intruded upon us with the kind of filth that violated the senses of everyone in the room to the point that we turned the TV off and began to pray. The program was embarrassing and an intrusion upon everything we believed.

I know that what is happening to the world is predicted. I know that we are coming closer to the coming of our Lord and that the world is being prepared to accept anything that is not of Christ. I see the world getting darker, but I also see the remnant believer desiring to be separated from anything that is of that world.

As we are able to see Who our Lord is with less distorted vision, anything having true value is compared only to His beauty. He becomes the benchmark for what is worthwhile in our lives to the point that dark values become distasteful and putrid. Those who love them are seen as pawns who need Jesus, rather than those to be envied and idolized.

Create in me a clean heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Rejoice that the living Christ is in you, radiant in power to overcome anything and everything when you surrender to Him fully. He is delighted to live His life through you. It is the wonder of the cross. It is the astounding benefit of surrendering to Him.”

Galatians 2:20 AMP

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]: it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

 

The Holy Spirit is wooing the church of Jesus Christ to prepare as a bride would prepare for a coming wedding of hearts. Through trials, tribulations, and extreme challenges, He is posturing each of us to get our priorities straight. By leading us to the end of ourselves and placing a new hope in those who will listen, He is calling us to set aside all of the ways of the world and embrace the ways of Jesus as our only reason for living. In doing so, we will be prepared for His coming and able to overcome the hazards that are soon to come our way.

This call is a call to holiness - a pursuit oftentimes not considered attainable or even a necessary part of every Christian’s heart - which will initiate a bridal heart desire that will allow the Lord to live His passionate life through devoted, surrendered vessels. It can be one of the most exciting adventures of your life if your heart’s desire is to increasingly make room for more of the most priceless treasure ever given to anyone – Jesus Christ. As you respond to the heart of God and increasingly develop a posture of waiting for Jesus’ timely return, you will then guide others to His heart as more hear the same call.

Help me to remember that You go with me wherever I go, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you realize that the simplicity of your life is about the heart choices you make and their outcome? Your most important choice is whether or not you choose to come to Me and live in the restored relationship I have provided through Jesus. Your decision has obvious eternal joys or consequences.

"What most fail to understand is that that choice is about Lordship; not whether Jesus is Lord or not, He is. It is about your submission to His Lordship over you. The degree to which you submit to His Lordship over you reveals more than you realize. I observe how submissive your heart is and how willing you are to immerse yourself in His ways; then I make choices. Some of My choices will surprise you if you haven’t submitted your heart fully to Him.”

Exodus 33:13 NIV

“’If I have found favor in your eyes, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you…”

Joshua 24:15 NIV

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

2 Chr. 16:9 NIV

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Romans 12:1 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…

Ephesians 3:16-17 AMP

16) May He grant you out of the rich treasure of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

17) May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deeply in love and founded securely on love,…

 

Lordship has a very clear definition in spiritual terms. It zeroes in on heart position and shows us who we really serve, not who we say we serve. God has committed Himself to have us fully surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Herein lies one of the most wonderful truths of our association with God because of Jesus. God’s part of our covenant is to make sure that we do not remain unlike Jesus. He is continually reminding us that we have sold our old life to Him. (Actually, He bought it from us. The price was the blood of Jesus.)

If we attempt to hold on to our lives, striving to maintain any semblance of control over them, we will lose their real value. If we voluntarily lose our lives, willingly taking the posture of Jesus by giving everything away to God, we gain more than we could ever believe possible. When we choose to make these fleeting moments in time that we call our lifetime all about the glory of the Lord, He shows us that He has far more for us than if we had been concerned only for ourselves.

It works like this: If we really do give everything away, He draws so close to us that our nature is superseded by His nature; and consequently, we care less and less about our own needs the more we come to Him. (Supersede – to force out of use as inferior, to take the place, room, or position of.) Our surrender causes the Lord to develop in us the character of Christ - a nature that is deeply in love with the Father and wanting only His desires - in place of our selfish, carnal character. The freedom achieved through our submission is the really good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God lovingly brings us out of the horrors of our fleshly nature.

I choose to fully submit to Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Is it any fun? Is Our relationship fun for you? I watch you; I notice you. You walk around with no clue as to how I invest My heart in you and grieve when you are burdened by your life. Do you know that My Son laughed and cried and prayed and taught with great zeal? He found fullness in the life that He had been given. I want you to do the same. I want you to have the heart of a zealot in whatever you do. When you laugh, rejoice with Me. When you are being taught a deep lesson, one that is destroying your flesh, remember that it is My great love for you behind that lesson; so embrace it passionately. When you love, do it with abandon as He did.

"Everything is being done for your good, so take joy even in the hard times. My Son surely did not enjoy the cross, but He did look forward to the joy His work would bring to others. Act like that. Take joy in My work being done in you. Take joy in each circumstance that comes to you, knowing that more than you could possibly know is being done by My power. I am your Father. I love you. Know that I am with you through this life. I have planned it; I have ordained it. One day you will rejoice with all of Us Who have gone through it with you.”

Eph. 3:19 AMP

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

I Thess. 5:16-18 AMP

16) Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

17) Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

18) Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

Jas. 1:2-4 AMP

2) Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.

3) Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.

4) But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

 

Have you ever watched a good worker? I once had the privilege of observing an apprentice in a woodworking shop. It so happened that the apprentice was also the son of the craftsman. It was wonderful to watch the young man tackle every task he was given with zeal. He did more than accomplish a job; he honed his skills at every opportunity.

Whenever his father was showing him a new skill, he was engrossed with every movement, every tool, and every word that the father used to describe the trade that he was imparting to his son. When the son was left on his own, I would notice the father - who was doing his own work - glance in the direction of his son to see how he was doing. If the son was not doing something exactly as he was shown, the father gently guided the boy until he got it right, encouraging him all the way. At the end of the task, the father and son took a great deal of time communicating what had been learned. It was beautiful.

The day that I was there, the son had to leave early. I watched as he cleaned up and walked out the doorway, thanking his father for what he had shared that day. The father stopped our conversation and followed his son with his eyes until he could see him no longer. Only then did he come back to me. When he did resume our conversation, his first words were: “He’s a good boy. I am really blessed.”

I think that our Father in heaven thinks about us like that. I don’t believe He cares about how well we do at any given task. I believe that He simply wants to be with us as we enthusiastically hone our skills. I also believe that He lovingly follows us with His eyes, like a pleased Father, as we go about our day.

Thank You, Father, for Your time with me,

Jim Corbett

“What changes will you make to your life to be exactly where I want you to be so that I can use you? Will you pack your belongings and move to a place you do not know? Will you leave all that you have to be in My will? I call you My ambassadors. I need you to represent Me to those who need to see Jesus. Go and give Him away. Go and bless others as I have blessed you. You can be sure that wherever I send you, there are those who need you waiting to know you. Many have been praying for new best friends. Maybe that friend is you!”

Isa. 6:8 AMP

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

John 10:27 AMP

The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.

John 20:21 AMP

Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.

2 Cor.5:20 NIV

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

The Lord is positioning His people for His end-time work. That is really quite a thrilling prospect. It means that on new horizons with unfamiliar people, you and I may find cities of refuge, holy alliances, and kinsman friendships who will walk with us during the times to come.

Often when our loving Father stirs up our nest and makes our comfort zone a little less comfortable, He has a mission for us. If that is the case in your life right now, if you are feeling that nudging to respond to His adventure, get to it! You may be amazed at how perfect the place that He sends you to fits the preparation you have been going through. It may be an incredibly difficult experience, an astounding joy, or both. Whatever the case, it is tailor made for you if you are hearing from God.

Move me wherever You want me to go, Lord,

Jim Corbett