Tag: Bible

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7/15/23 You Are Valuable

Do you have any idea how valuable you are to your Father God? I don't think many of us men can really grasp the concept of a Father that loves us not for what we do, but just because we are valuable to Him. In fact, most of us look at the stewardship that we have been given only as an obligation that we will be held accountable for, without realizing that it is because He really cares for us, He chooses to trust us.

Some of us had an earthly father who demanded from us without the corresponding love and encouragement. We were told to live up to expectations to maintain some kind of worth in his eyes. Possibly because he never had any encouragement from his father, he wasn't able to pass on what he had no knowledge of. Whatever the case, we spent our days attempting to prove our worth to him, and to anyone else for that matter.

God is not like that. He lovingly places value on us, value that is not changed by our actions good or bad, right or wrong. His kind of value is a wealth beyond our comprehension. It is placed on us simply because we exist and belong to Him.

If we ever really comprehend that concept, we can take on the powerful stewardship given us as husband and father with an incredible joy, knowing that our heavenly Father is not only for us, but covers our back when we blow it. In essence, His mercy and grace flow stronger to us and our needs when we turn to Him because we are out of answers. He guards us, protects us, loves us unconditionally, and guides us to truth, just because we are His. Maybe it's time to bask in the value He places on us as we go about our days heading up our family, so we can pass unquestioned value on to them.

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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7/14/23 Spiritual Integrity

“Walk where I tell you to walk. Do what I tell you to do. Live like Jesus lived. Delight in what I am doing, no matter what the outcome of your life might be. It’s called being a follower of Jesus. He is honored when you really act the way He acts because you said that you are going to follow His ways. It’s called integrity. It’s called obedience. It’s called praise.”

Matthew 21:28-31 NIV

28) “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29) “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30) “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ’I will sir,’ but he did not go.

31) “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

Mark 4:24 AMP

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you – and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

1 John 2:6 AMP 

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

 

Our life in Christ is really pretty straight forward. We are supposed to act just like He acted. What really amazes me is that we, as followers of Christ who have the truth, often resemble the One we follow less than those who follow other gods and other ideas. They are full of zeal. We are filled with lethargy. They have their heart issues and causes as a priority in their lives. We place the desires of God far behind our own desires. They are strong in their beliefs and are willing to die for what they think is true. We have the truth and can still be fearful, doubtful, double-minded, and uncommitted.

Forgive me, Lord, for dishonoring You with my life,

Jim Corbett

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7/14/23 It’s Not About You

2 Corinthians 10:5(AMPC) [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), 

What if everything we have been taught to hold dear since we were old enough to reason has been a lie of the world that has set itself up against the Word of God? What if all of our thoughts, self-strengths, abilities, or anything that does not have God as its center or source is not of God, so we are to cast them down? If that is truth, they are strongholds that set themselves up against the will of God in our lives.

Jesus walked above the world and all of its ways. There was not one thing of the world He accepted or based any decision on. He only listened to His Father and did what they had agreed should be done. The lie of sickness and disease, the lie of doing anything without consulting the Father first, the lie of fear, dread, even death when it was not time, like Lazarus, were called to account by the kingdom laws of His Father. He lived in the realm of higher laws. Gravity even meant nothing to Him when He disappeared into the air.

With our limited carnal abilities and reasonings, the things that Jesus did, those that we are able to comprehend, are sometimes held as good stories for us to learn from. But what if we are supposed to really walk as Jesus did? He was Spirit and flesh. We are flesh and of the Spirit because of the covenant of the cross. He was the first born of many. We are the "many" that followed Him in our born-again experience. We are called to do even greater things than He did.

Maybe it's time to really seek the Lord's opinion on how we are to live this life, looking above the ways of the world and casting down anything that doesn't agree with the Word of God. Jesus didn't like them; should we live under their dictates? What do you think?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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7/13/23 Always There

“I chose you! From the beginning, I knew that you would be with Me for eternity. Long before you even knew that I existed, I had you in mind for all of My future eternities. Since you were born, I have noticed you and wooed you to give your heart to Jesus. I devised ways that would turn you to Me. Now that you are Mine, how could you possibly conceive that I would give up on you, or leave you, or forget about your needs?

"When I first thought of you, I knew what it would take to make you all that you could be for your good for all eternity. Now that you are progressing toward that end, you need to know that I am confident that you will complete the task I have assigned to you. You will submit fully. You will become obedient. You will one day choose only My ways and set aside your ways. I believe in you. I will continue to set forth challenges to which you must respond. Your response shows your progress in becoming more like Jesus. Stay the course. Keep your heart soft to My will. I will never give up on you. I never make wrong choices.”

2 Samuel 14:14b NIV

“God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”

Jeremiah 1:5a NIV

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…

I Thess. 2:4 AMP

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].

2 Timothy 2:12  NIV

…if we endure, we will also reign with him…

I Peter 4:12 AMP

Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.

Rev. 2:26 NIV

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations...

 

The idea that the Creator of the universe knew us before we were even born staggers our imaginations. The truth of that realized deep within us would change our lives. If we ever firmly believed that truth, we would cease from striving and look at all the events in our lives differently.

Let’s talk truth. Father God did know us before we were in the womb. Now that we’re born, He has been with us, helping us to see the need to surrender to Jesus. He knew the exact moment that we surrendered to the wooing of the Holy Spirit and gave our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Once we surrendered, He began fulfilling His promise to make us like Jesus. Our time with Him is a short time compared to His time of noticing and caring about us. Our plans are considerably smaller than the plans that He has for us. He’s talking eternities; we’re usually dealing with days and moments.

Most of us have not taken the time to really see our Father’s creation model from His perspective. Knowing the beginning from the end, He obviously sees beyond the conclusion of our instant on this earth. When we were known by Him before we existed, He saw past this limited life in the flesh to our role as the priests and kings of His thousand years and whatever else He has in store for us.

We, on the other hand, are so focused on our physical needs and wants in this lifetime that we rarely see His participation in our lives as preparing us for our future role. We just want our needs met and our eternity secure on streets of gold. If the thoughts of His plans do come to our mind, our carnal mind thinks “lofty,” when it should be thinking honor and responsibility to grow up in our faith so that we glorify Him.

We forget that we are being formed into the character of Jesus for very specific purposes. We also forget that our Father in Heaven is very confident in His ability to overcome our flesh. As we progress, we are often shown how far we have come. We get to see in a very real way how our responses have changed when challenges are presented. Just about the time we feel that nothing in us is changing, that we are the same as we were years ago, something happens and we are proved wrong.

Somehow, in some unknown way, God’s work in us is proven to us. Our faith stands the test. Worry loses its grip. Forgiveness flows in a manner as never before. Fear cannot gain a foothold when our confidence in God stands firm. We make it when we would have failed a short time ago. How wonderful to know that even though we are often clueless, God is faithful!

Thank You for Your love to us, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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7/13/23 Imaginations

2 Corinthians 10:5(AMPC) [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), 

What if everything we have been taught to hold dear since we were old enough to reason has been a lie of the world that has set itself up against the Word of God? What if all of our thoughts, self-strengths, abilities, or anything that does not have God as its center or source is not of God, so we are to cast them down? If that is truth, they are strongholds that set themselves up against the will of God in our lives.

Jesus walked above the world and all of its ways. There was not one thing of the world He accepted or based any decision on. He only listened to His Father and did what they had agreed should be done. The lie of sickness and disease, the lie of doing anything without consulting the Father first, the lie of fear, dread, even death when it was not time, like Lazarus, were called to account by the kingdom laws of His Father. He lived in the realm of higher laws. Gravity even meant nothing to Him when He disappeared into the air.

With our limited carnal abilities and reasonings, the things that Jesus did, those that we are able to comprehend, are sometimes held as good stories for us to learn from. But what if we are supposed to really walk as Jesus did? He was Spirit and flesh. We are flesh and of the Spirit because of the covenant of the cross. He was the first born of many. We are the "many" that followed Him in our born-again experience. We are called to do even greater things than He did.

Maybe it's time to really seek the Lord's opinion on how we are to live this life, looking above the ways of the world and casting down anything that doesn't agree with the Word of God. Jesus didn't like them; should we live under their dictates? What do you think?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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