Category: From Our Fathers Heart

“Jesus lived a passionate life. He involved His entire being in every task presented to Him. Equipped from Our time together and empowered by Our Holy Spirit, His presentation of truth caused some remarkable changes in those who came near to Him. Ordinary people went on to do extraordinary representations of My desires because they followed His pattern of living.

 “That same presence is available to you. The same Holy Spirit that lives in everyone totally committed to Our way is available to you if you will only surrender fully to Him. Choose this day whom you will passionately serve. Choose each moment to submit fully to the Lordship of Jesus over every aspect of your life. Determine to live the kind of life that is your heritage. Become zealous about presenting the Truth to a world that lives in lies. Live as Jesus did.”

Psalm 111:2 NIV

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Isaiah 2:22 AMP

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

Matthew 11:12 NIV

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Acts 17:28a AMP

For in Him we live and move and have our being…

Rom 11:36 AMP

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it).

 

When was the last time you became passionate about the Lord’s plans? For that matter, when was the last time the Lord’s plans for your life took priority over the other demands of your life?

God is clearly requiring each of us to make Him our priority. Still, most of us agonize over the demands of simply living out each day - paying the rent, providing for food, etc. To stop, even for a day, and spend it entirely with the Lord should He ask us to do so, would be a gift beyond comprehension for some of us. I believe that the answer is heart commitment.

I believe that each and every one of us must make a choice to live Christ’s passionate life throughout our every very ordinary days. We are to approach with zeal the tasks and the people placed before us, presenting every one of them as an offering. I am convinced that this life is not so much about what we do as it is about the One for whom we are doing it. If everything that we become involved in is truly offered to the Lord and placed under His Lordship, the fluff will fall away and the eternal purposes of God will become priorities to us, changing us and those around us who are looking for answers.

Take my stuff and replace it with Your stuff, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You walk in unforgiveness and still claim to be My vessel of service. How can that be? Forgiveness is what the cross of Jesus is all about. He died so that you could be forgiven. Forgiveness is what you have received so that We could talk. Forgiveness is what you are counting on when you stand in front of Me on that last day. Would you like to be given the same forgiveness that you have given others, especially those close to you? That is what will happen unless you change your heart. Forgive as Jesus did. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Don’t think that I am with you in anything you do until you have forgiven everyone who has harmed you. Come to Me; I will help you!”

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

23) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

 

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. 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 forgive everyone, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You are wise when you fully comprehend Who I am as God. It is the beginning of life for you. Until then, it is impossible for you to have what is needed to live the life of Jesus in your world. I am willing to show you deep truths from My heart. All you need to do is come to Me with an open heart. Humble yourself. Acknowledge that you do not have all the answers. Ask for truth. Strive for intimacy. Make Our time together a priority in your life. I will show you Who I am. I will also reveal who you really are and how important your life is to Me. That is a good thing.”

Psalm 25:12-14 NIV

12) Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13) He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14) The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.

Psalm 46:10 NIV

Be still, and know that I am God...

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

James 4: 8-10 AMP

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].

 

As you grow in Christ, you must learn to joyfully embrace a life of repentance. Delight in what God is doing in you as you are shown who you are not. Understand that you are still very welcome in His presence. You are a deeply loved work in progress. Submission to the changes the Lord is making in you develops your ability to present Jesus to the world, which is your heritage and God’s original plan for your life. He knows who you are and everything you are not. Real heart changes are needed in all of us and can only take place when spending quality time with Him to know His heart and looking to Him alone for all things.

Teach me about You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“For a long time now, I have called you to be like My Son, Jesus – to be complete in Me – but many of you have refused to listen.  You have chosen to remain in your sinful nature, denying My power to change you. You have a form of godliness, but you do not let Me complete the work that is necessary for you to show the world My Son, Jesus. Soon, My Holy Spirit will be moving in a direction that is new to those who haven’t chosen My ways. He will execute My bold judgments to make you bend to My ways, instead of allowing you to continue in your ways. There will no more be the kind of grace from Me that has allowed you to be less than I have determined for your life. The kind of grace that I will send will overpower your hardened heart.

 "I advise you to buy gold from Me that has been refined in the fire, before I refine My gold in the fire of judgment, which is also designed to change you. Come to Me now. I am waiting.  Now is the time. This season is My final call - My bridal call. Do not turn from Me again, or My eyes of judgment will turn toward your life - for your good and for the glory of My Son, Jesus.”

Hosea 10:12 AMP

Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.

Lifeline II Tim. 3:1-5 AMP

1) But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

2) For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

3) [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

4) [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.

5) For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

Revelation 3:10 NIV

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

 

I remember when I was a teenager. (Boy! That was a long time ago!) My dad would observe some of my behavior and then take me aside to show me that if I continued on the path I was walking, there would be consequences to my actions. Sometimes he would even show me very clearly what those consequences might be, should I decide not to heed his warning.

Usually I would stand there, hear what he had to say; and then continue on my way, doing exactly what I had done before. As I look back, there must have been some kind of “stupid filter” in my brain that allowed only foolishness in and filtered out all wisdom.

Good stuff - like wisdom, understanding, thoughtfulness - seemed to be a foreign language to me. It was not so much that I didn’t want to think clearly; I just don’t remember thoughts of having any need to do so. Take the importance of driving carefully, for example. It just didn’t enter into the equation as soon as I heard the sound of my mufflers or thought of the three carburetors under the hood.

The thought of applying wisdom to any of my actions never entered my mind once I started the engine.  Logic and understanding were also nowhere to be found when I got in my car. I would probably have invited them to go with me as I drove; but somehow, I don’t remember them even being available. It was as though they were not part of my brain cell group.

Sitting on the front lawn on a Saturday night, staring at my impounded car over and over again, eventually eroded some of that “stupid filter.”  What a concept. If I would listen to my dad, things would go better in my life.

In our walk with the Lord, “stupid filters” are commonplace. We just call them little sins. God, however, sees the horrible ramifications of our indulgence. He knows the terrible difference between being with Him completely and never really seeing the need to sell out to His ways with all our hearts. Eventually, because of His great love for us, He must take Fatherly action to curb our foolishness. He knows that the consequences are too great for Him to leave us where we are.

Needing to heed what is being said by my Father,

Jim Corbett

“Never judge the gifts that I give you with your carnal mind. Never judge what I am doing because things look dark. I am always looking out for your spiritual well-being. My church is cold and far from Me. Now they will need Me. As things become darker, My light will be brighter to those who turn to Me with all of their hearts. As you need Me, I will be there for you. I have told you of difficult times on the horizon. I have counseled you to cultivate an intimacy with Me. Now you will have need of knowing My will and My ways to overcome the challenges that come your way.

 “It is not too late. Look upon those things that are happening around you as My gift to you. Anything that draws you to Me is very good for you. I am waiting for you to fully understand your need of Me. When you need Me, you will come to Me. That delights My heart for I know that it is My best for you. I am waiting!”

II Chr. 16:9a AMP

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him.

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—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Heb. 4:16 AMP 

Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

James 4:7-8a AMP 

7) So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.

8a) Come close to God and He will come close to you.

 

Because of what has been prophesied in the Bible and what is happening all around us, I am convinced that in the very near future, you and I will have difficult choices to make. With those choices, we can either succumb to the temptation to protect what is ours and be consumed with our little world, or we can rise to the challenge of overcoming the world’s darkness.

We can dig in with God to find our portion of what He is doing and about to do to further His kingdom. That is the only place of safety. Our flesh may want to reel in fear. Our spirits, however, know that we will be drawn to the Lord as never before. If we submit to His power, we will overcome all of the challenges that will come our way. That is the only option for us if we say that we follow Jesus. It is our act of worship.

Allow me to receive Your gifts with Your heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett