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2/29/24 Silent Movie

When I was in my teens (and dirt was a new thing,) a local radio personality devoted one entire afternoon of programming time to sharing a silent movie with his audience. Think of that, a silent movie on the radio. As foolish as the idea sounds and is, this guy gave a narrative of certain scenes in the movie between songs. What is even more peculiar is he captured my attention throughout the three-hour show. I couldn’t wait for his next input, which - by the way - was very funny.

As I reflect back, there probably was no real silent movie being played. In reality, the man just took license and came up with a plan that captured the attention of his listeners by using a unique approach. What I was hearing had no bearing on reality.

Now that I know the Lord and observe how we, as men, respond to each day’s challenges, I see a definite parallel to that man’s program. The enemy of our marriages and families is making up stories filled with lies and make-believe, and handing them to us, our wives, and our children. He then tells us there is a reality to what he is saying, when God calls all of his plans imaginations. To God, they are not funny!

God has a plan laid out very clearly for us in His Word. There is no make-believe. There are no silent movies that someone else has to interpret, because He has given us His Holy Spirit. His plan has nothing hidden. We can count on it to help us overcome all the silent movies of the enemy.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/28/24 Manmade Gods

“Whenever you allow anything or anyone to make you function outside of the character of Jesus Christ, it replaces Him as your god. What you serve is really the lord of your life. Partial service to Jesus is double-minded and not worthy of the kingdom life. You must take account of your life before I take account of it for you. Where are your treasures? If you harbor anger and hatred, a murderous heart governs your life. You have lost the heart of Jesus.

"If greed is your god, you will not share My spiritual or material wealth with others. You consume what I make available through you on yourself and rob from Me. You do not care enough for them to give away what is rightfully Mine to give to them, wanting to use you to do it. You have lost the heart of Jesus. If you are motivated by the lusts of this world, if others determine how you act, if your own needs dictate your daily activities, your man-made gods are your rewards. You have lost the heart of Jesus. I have made Jesus’ heart available to you. His heart cares only for My desires and for the needs of others. It is the way of the cross. It is life. Why would you choose any other life unless you really desire that life as your lord? That is not a wise choice!”

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.”

Prov. 28:14 AMP

Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is the man who reverently and worshipfully fears [the Lord] at all times [regardless of the circumstances], but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 25:23 NIV

"His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’”

There is an old saying about a shepherd who is stationed as a watchman over his sheep: “The watchman has lost his perspective when he begins to enjoy killing wolves more than he enjoys protecting sheep.”

In this saying, the merciful watchman has positioned himself to protect those that cannot protect themselves. He is showing mercy. Even if he should have to kill a wolf, his heart position is one of mercy toward the sheep.

In contrast, the other kind of watchman is simply a murderer. The true motives of his heart may be masked by the task that he is asked to perform - in this case, protecting sheep - but his joy is really fulfilled in the killing of wolves.

He is merciless, without any love, even for the sheep he is hired to protect. His job is only the covering for him to satisfy his murderous heart. Both watchmen look as if they are performing the same task, but the position of their respective heart motives separates them. There is no common ground for the two of them.

In the same way, we as Christians cannot say that we are following in the steps of Jesus simply because we are doing the “good” things that we think He might do. If our purpose for doing all that we do is not one of showing those who have not found the Lord who He really is; then, we have no common ground with Him.

In our religious activities, in all of our associations, in every act of kindness, if we don’t have the desire that the recipients of our actions see Jesus in us that they might be saved; then our heart is no better than the shepherd who enjoys killing wolves. From a heavenly perspective, we really are like murderers. A person with a murderous heart cares little if anyone lives or dies, unless he somehow benefits from either prospect. We are merciless. Jesus, in contrast, willingly gave His own life, so that everyone would have the possibility of truly living. His heart was, and still is, full of mercy.

As our Lord prepares us for His coming, He is showing all of us how little we truly represent Him, even though we call ourselves by His Name and pretend to care as He does. He will not truly be joined with anyone who does not have the same heart attitudes that He does in every area.

Teach me to serve only You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

2/28/24 Commitment to Lordship

From the book, The Father Factor, by Jim and Merry Corbett

The Lordship of Jesus Christ over everything is the single corridor God has provided to remove your spiritual impotence. It is the spiritual equivalent to the mechanical “How does it work?” of the natural realm. It is the only “action-reaction” provided by God to overcome useless, unacceptable works of the flesh.

If you need to do so, introduce yourself to Jesus all over again. Open your heart up to the Lord in prayer. Rediscover His overwhelming love for you. Pursue first love with Him once again and recapture the wonder of His mighty works. Ask Him to show you which areas you have surrendered to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ and those you haven’t. Write them down. Don’t push this aside with the usual “I’ve already given everything over to Him,” as you may have done for many years, all the while being deceived and remaining spiritually impotent. Don’t be fooled into believing that everything is under His Lordship when it probably isn’t. Your spiritual life depends on it!

Take the time to list everything you can think of in your world, your marriage, your children, your ministry, your career, your relationships, etc., that is or is not under His Lordship. Come clean. Cover everything and include it in the following prayer when you can mean it from the bottom of your heart, because the Lord is waiting eagerly to answer your prayer and transform you through the power of His Word and His Spirit – the Holy Spirit. It’s a win-win situation!

Lord,

I place everything in my life (read your list) under Your complete Lordship. I am tired of trying to complete in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit. Teach me to understand Your ways and then give me the power to continually walk in them. Thank You, Lord!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/27/24 Through the Blood

“Don’t ever deny My power to change you. Don’t limit My desire to make you like My Son. Don’t underestimate the working promises that have been given to you at the cross. You see yourself, your sin, and how far you have to go, and you wonder why I would even desire to be with you. I only see you through the blood that was shed for you. You see what you are not. I, however, see what I have promised to make you. You stay away from Me after you have sinned, thinking that I don’t want to be near you because of it. I long for you to be clean. It is in those times that My love flows to you more, knowing your hurt; and I pursue you with zeal to restore Our fellowship.

"Don’t you see? The work that has been done on the cross is spiritual. It is eternal. It is complete. You have been brought next to Me forever. It was all My idea. I knew who you were. I know who you are now. I know who you will be. I brought you to Me when you were filthy in your sin and gave you Myself as your inheritance. Do you think that I would leave you now because of what you have done or may do? Never! I love you. That is My promise, and it lasts forever.”

Hebrews 13:5b AMP

…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

Rom. 2:4b AMP

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)?

Sometimes, when I feel that the Lord doesn’t want to be near me because I have failed Him for the millionth time, I remember the picture of Jesus carrying the little lamb on His shoulders. That lamb looks incredibly content.

Someone once told me that the lamb on the shoulders of the shepherd is probably the most rebellious of all the lambs. It is the one that’s always wandering in harm’s way. It is the one that probably couldn’t follow the others, continually going off on its own, oblivious of the pitfalls and peril that inevitably happen to the stumbling, slick-footed, weak creature.

In real life, I am told that the shepherd - knowing what’s best for the lamb - bruises, or even breaks the hind leg of that lamb so that it can no longer wander from the safety of the others. He then lifts the lamb to his shoulders and carries it until it is totally healed. During the time that the lamb is being carried, it becomes familiar with the shepherd as he feeds it, talks to it, and caresses it. The lamb, in its helplessness, can only receive the shepherd’s love. It is too broken to do anything else.

Once the lamb is healed enough to walk on its own, the shepherd sets it down next to him. The lamb - now familiar with the shepherd and his love - follows close, never wanting to leave his side.

No matter what it takes, Lord, create in me a longing to only want to be by Your side,

Jim Corbett

2/27/24 Joseph

I believe one of the most unheralded examples of utmost faith in God is Joseph. Given the period in which he lived, the idea that his future wife, his betrothed, was pregnant meant so much more than it would today. According to those ignorant of the circumstances, she should be stoned.

Imagine, if you will, Joseph dealing with the “know-it-alls” as she began to physically show her situation. Imagine the task he had to not only grasp her situation, but then answer to the questioning eyes in their close-knit society. Imagine him standing with her, defending her and defending God to those who couldn’t understand.

But Joseph knew. He’d heard from God. He trusted what he heard and lived his life with confidence that God had made the impossible possible. His faith overcame any fear he may have had. His faith allowed the will of God to be fulfilled. Because he believed, every one of us was given a chance to be made right with God. He was a husband who trusted in the promise of God and walked in that promise.

What impossible task are you called to do as a husband or father? How impossible does the challenge seem? If you want to overcome all the impossibilities as Joseph did, why not spend enough time with God to hear from Him and find His purpose and direction? After doing so, walk in the kind of love He tells you to exhibit, no matter how foolish it may seem. You have no idea how many people you will impact if you do.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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