“Do you understand that I am preparing you? The reason I am stirring up the desire in your heart to draw close to Jesus is so that you will be prepared for the events that are soon coming your way. Only those who know My Word, know My heart, and know how to listen to Me for everything will be able to overcome the trials that are about to occur. Formulas will soon fail. Make-believe doctrines will be shown for what they really are.  “Draw close to Me. Make Jesus the center of your life. Function in My Word. Submit to My training. Learn to need Me. I am calling you to intimacy.”    Isaiah 48:3 NIV   “I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.”   Jeremiah 2:13 NIV   “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”   Luke 6:46 AMP   Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?   Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV   10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.      Many of us forget that the trials that we are going through are for a greater purpose. We are being trained to hear the voice of God and move when and where He wants us to move in a time when the voices of the enemy are much louder and stronger than they are now.   The times in which we live are deadly for many reasons; but most of all, because we are incapable of really following God. Bad doctrines, false beliefs, immature understanding, and flat-out lazy Christianity have lulled us into a spiritual complacency. It is almost like we are in a drunken stupor, unable to shake loose from the ways of the world that have permeated the church. We need to pray and ask the Lord to stir our hearts. We need to wake up and remember the times in which we are living and our role in the fulfillment of those times. We need to get as serious with Jesus as He is with us.               Get me ready, Lord, Jim Corbett