Tag: Bible

“I call all of you, My children, to embrace the cross of Jesus Christ. Then I ask you to take up your cross and follow Me. Most of you misunderstand what I mean. I plant some crosses for those of you in the desert. Others I plant when you are on a high fertile hill. Some crosses are in humble surroundings. Others are in mansions. The cross that you are supposed to embrace is in your place of full surrender over a specific area of your life. It is where the death of your ownership of that area takes place. It is one step on the way to the place of full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over your entire existence.

“No two crosses are the same. All, however, produce a death that brings forth abundant life in you. All produce rich fruit that is fragrant to Me and nourishment to everyone you touch. Find where your particular cross is planted for every specific work I desire to accomplish in you. Most likely it is somewhere near where you are right now. Pick it up and walk the path that Jesus did. Others will need who you will become.”

Proverbs 20:24 AMP

Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord….

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.”

Matthew 16:24-25 AMP

24) Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

25) For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

Rev. 3:19 AMP

Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

 

The cross of Jesus Christ is the central point of all eternity. Eternities past looked forward to the cross. All of eternities future will look back to the cross. It will have produced the reigning priests and kings. Without the cross, there is no salvation. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, eternity continues.

Throughout our lives, the Lord uses the completed work of Calvary, but also provides individual crosses for each of us to carry. Each of them is tailor-made to put to death specific areas of our nature that are not like the nature of Jesus. All of them bring forth His fragrant life after the required death that they produce. Some of them produce the spiritual richness needed for our specific calling in life.

The wise follower of Jesus embraces each work that the Lord desires to accomplish through His initial work on the cross and upon the death sentence to his carnal nature. He takes up his cross. The foolish person fights each work being done in him, resists the cross, and remains a spiritual infant - uninterested and unable to flow in the plans that the Lord has for his life.

 Make me willing to embrace what You are doing in me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“There is more. I have so much more for you, but you do not care enough to find it in Me. If you only knew the depth of fellowship that I desire for you. If you could only understand how far you are from Us walking so close together that there is no difference in Our thoughts, ideas, and ways of doing things. Jesus did have that kind of communion as an example for you to follow. His example was not there to tease you; it was to encourage you to desire the same kind of relationship with Me. Most of you have never desired to enter into that kind of interaction. Most of you feel that if you got that close, My intense light would consume you. That is not true. Because of your acceptance of the work of Jesus, you have been formed into the kind of being that is at home in My presence.

“You don’t come, however, because you will not lay down all the other loves in your life that would be consumed by Me. You would rather hang on to those things that separate Us than really be together as I have made Us to be. How foolish! By hanging on to your carnal needs that cannot come into My presence with you, you miss the very life that would set you free from them. You need to shake off all of your old nature by My power. You need to desire only My presence as you did when We first met. Return to your first love of Me. Intimate, total fellowship is your heritage. Let go of foolish loves. Come to My love. I am waiting.”

Rom. 2:4 AMP

Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and longsuffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)?

 

There is a story often told on how to catch a monkey. I am not sure if it is true; but accurate or not, the example fits very well here.

First, you hollow out a tethered coconut with a hole that is just large enough for a monkey to fit his hand into.  Then, you place food in the coconut shell and the monkey will be caught. When he puts his hand in the hole to grab the food, the monkey will form a fist that will be impossible to extract from the hole. Since he will not let go of the food for fear of losing it, the monkey will remain with his hand in the coconut until he is captured. If he would simply let go of the food, he could be free.

That is so much like each one of us. We are so deceived by the brightness of our sin, that we will even miss true fellowship with God in order to keep holding on to it. We choose to remain weak, confused, vulnerable to the enemy; and most horrible, unavailable for the Lord’s use. He wants people who can represent Him because they have been with Him often. Our heritage is the wonder of being with our Lord so often, that to move away from Him, even a little bit, would be the worst thing that could happen to us.

Take notice of your life. Allow the Lord to observe it with you. As He points out everything that separates the two of you from complete fellowship as He intends it - and there could possibly be a ton of the stuff - repent of them one by one. Keep repenting of them until they are no longer part of your existence. Make your life a life of joyous repentance while walking as close as you can with Him. Join Him in the war against your rebellion. You will be washed and washed and washed until you have no hindrances to your fellowship.

As you keep talking and walking and gladly repenting, you will notice the constant forgiveness and astounding kindness of the Lord as He walks closer and closer with you. This kindness will draw you back over and over again. Each encounter allows you to release the “food” a little more and loosen your “hand” so that you will be free from the bondage of the “coconut.” His power changes your desires.

 Wanting to let go of the “poisonous food” completely,

Jim Corbett

“It gives Me great pleasure to see you prosper. It delights My heart when you find the rhythm that I intend for your life. So many of My children miss what I have for them because they will not set aside their desires long enough to find My desires for them. They do not delight in Me and allow Me to place My ways in them.

“Look what I have completed in you because you have come to Me. I have modified your cares and needs. I have eliminated strongholds that have hindered you from seeing clearly and have replaced them with cravings for heavenly involvements. Even your understanding of what is real and what is not has changed over time. You are on your way to prosperity as I see prosperity. You are placing your life focuses where they need to be - on My desires. In fact, My desires are becoming your desires. That is the path to prosperity. Step by step, I am taking you there as We walk together. Come closer to Me. I will give you more of My heart so that you can prosper.”

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….’

Psalm 37:4 NIV

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Two things come to my mind when I ponder what has been said above. First, I think of how much work has been done in my heart to modify who I once was and move me to what the Lord desires for me. I know how impossible it was for me to think clearly for so many years. What astounding patience on His part! What incredible mercy and grace I have received, instead of the judgments and wrath that I deserve.

My second thought centers on the verse in Psalms. He gives us the desires of our hearts. I used to come with my wish list, attempting to hold Him to His Word. I expected every desire I gave Him to be fulfilled. In fact, there are many cars (pretty old and rusted cars now) that had my handprints on them because I prayed “in faith,” knowing that they one day would belong to me, simply because I desired them. When most of my dreams and wishes fell by the wayside, I began to seek the Lord in earnest to know what that verse really meant.

I found out that the key to its fulfillment is certainly delighting in the Lord, but I had missed how that played out in God’s economy. As I began to delight in Him and take pleasure in learning His ways, I found that He planted His desires in my heart. What wisdom! As I began to pray about His desires and ways that were now in my heart - low and behold! - things started to happen. What an incredible God! (By the way, I am so grateful that He doesn’t give us everything we ask for!)

Teach me Your ways, Lord, as I delight in You,

Jim Corbett