Tag: Bible

“My gifts to you sometimes come in the form of great trials and hardships.  I know that it is hard for you to see My love in difficult circumstances, but from the heavenly perspective it is the greatest kind of love. Look at it this way. I know what you are about to face in this life. I know where your weaknesses are, and I also know where you are vulnerable to attack. If I didn’t strengthen you in those areas, what kind of love would that be?  It would be no love at all, but very much like an uncaring friend.

"I am training you for My ministry of reconciliation. That is why you must submit to My training. Let Me assure you that I am hovering over you in the midst of each trial to make sure that it is not too much for you. It needs to be strong enough to change you, but it will not crush you. Rest assured that I am with you through it. I love you.”

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].

II Cor. 5:17-19 AMP 

17) Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

18 But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].

19 It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but canceling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).

 

If you haven’t been through any kind of trial or hardship before this, just keep walking with Jesus and you will experience them. It is part of God’s promise to us to train us for our ministry of restoring others to the Lord. Look at the lives of the prophets and apostles. Look at those who willingly gave up their lives for Jesus throughout the centuries. How do our trials compare to theirs?  Then again, how does our love for God and other people compare to theirs?

I am convinced that our ability to love others and to love God is directly related to the amount of forgiveness we have received and the amount of pressure that we submit to at the hand of God. Placing ourselves directly in a situation of desperately needing the Father eventually trains us to have the kind of faith and caring that is needed to touch our world. (Is God responsible for all of the evil things that happen to us and in the world? Of course not. There is an enemy of our soul that is in the business of discouraging us, trying to separate us from the love of God, and attempting to kill us.)

Maybe we need to really understand something, however. God is not in the business of making our lives comfortable. To believe that is a lie. (That lie has done more harm than almost anything in the body of Christ because to believe it allows us to embrace a self-centered, self -absorbed gospel.)

God is in the business of making sure that others do not perish.  His plan is to use us to bring that gospel to those who haven’t heard it. The problem is that you and I are not showing others what Jesus looks like, so He needs to change our character.

Few people will embrace the saving Gospel and come to Jesus because of our lives and our witness, if all we can offer them is empty words and fruitless lives. We need a Christ-like life for them to see who He is. That kind of life only comes through the pressure of trials and hardships. They are forming us to embrace those who hate us and those who need us.

Do what it takes to change me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Perilous times require adventurous people to counteract fear in the immature believer. You are heading for some perilous times, and it is time for you to make some decisions. What will you do when everyone else panics? Where will you find safety when everyone around you finds their strength in what they can do with their heads and their hands?

"You need to practice My presence now. You need to learn to remain on My lap until I release you with the answers that are needed to overcome the situation in My timing. You need to learn to hear My voice above the din created by the loud voices of carnal men and immature believers. I want you to realize something. If you are really following Me, you should have long ago considered yourself dead to everything that others long for. This world should hold nothing for you. You should be getting rid of those things that hold your attention, instead of acquiring more. You should be practicing to become a leader to those who will need answers when the paper leaders fail them. That power comes from being with Me.

"Become adventurous today. Quit holding on to things that will soon disappear. Hold on to Me. I will show you places that are marvelous, when others see only havoc. I will show you wondrous, high places that cannot be touched by carnal fears and insignificant terrors. I will make you adventurous when others are hamstrung with fear and confusion. I will impart My kind of strength to you. Your place is with Me, not with those who are hanging on to things that don’t matter. Time with Me is where the resources for your adventure will be found. Come to Me now.”

Hebrews 10:32-36 NIV

32) Remember those earlier days after you received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering.

33) Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.

34) You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

35) So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

36) You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

I wonder what the early church would think of the self-serving gospel that is being presented in most circles these days. I wonder how Paul would contend with the prosperity preachers who would proclaim that it was his lack of faith that landed him in prison. How many of them do you think came to him in his day, telling him to confess that he is free so that he could be? The immaturity of today’s doctrines is so apparent when placed alongside the maturity of those who understood their positions as believers and showed us a much better way.

From the moment Saul (Paul) was knocked down on his way to Damascus by the power of God, his adventure began. His feet were firmly placed on a new road to uncharted territory. He was on his way to living a life that few, if any, had experienced before - a life of death to self and alive to Christ and His ways. He led the way to the most prosperous life imaginable, designed in heaven and implemented by his Lord. Hidden danger, terrorizing threats, beatings, and imprisonment were no match for the wonder of trusting his Lord at every turn. He had found the greatest adventure of his life.

Our Father has shown us the success achieved at the end of Paul’s kind of life. Not very visible then but read about most every day since he lived it by those who need to learn how to really live God’s way.

Wanting to be part of an adventure with God,

Jim Corbett

“Let’s do lunch.  I’ll be the main course. Do you realize that whenever We spend time together, I don’t just give you things to learn, I always impart to you more of Myself?  When you feed on My Word, I am imparting more of the character of My Son, Who is the Word, to you. As soon as you truly begin to understand what happened at your salvation, and what happens every time We get together, you will really start to enjoy this new life that you have been given.

"Just for starters, let Me tell you a little truth. This life that We share together is not about being good, or preaching to others, or even going to church. Your new life is about Us spending time together for eternity simply because I want to be near you forever. In the meantime, I’m promising to make you more like Me, so that you can better understand all the spiritual eternities that are in store for you.

You can’t begin to understand how I think or what I do unless you know Me. You get to know Me when I give you Me – My thoughts, My heart, My ways. Eventually, when this physical life of yours is over, I, (the “Me” that I have imparted to you,) will simply flow in a wonderful union with you, (the “Me” that you have received.) Come to Me when you are sick of food that can only give temporary nourishment. Let’s get some eternal food together. I’ll gladly give you who I am.”

Isa. 55:8-11 AMP

8) For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.

9) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

10) For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11) So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

 

Huh? I don’t get it!

Actually, I do get it enough to somewhat enjoy the wonder of what Jesus has done on the cross for us. He restored us to a place where we can again be in fellowship with our true Father. When the veil was torn while Jesus was on the cross, we were given full access to the holy places of God. We could freely come near Him. As astounding as that is, there is more.

With the new birth, we have been made spiritual people, capable of functioning in our new heavenly home, interacting with God. We have been made like Him to be able to interact with Him. Everything will be crystal clear when we get there.

Since we are not there yet, our Father builds us piece by piece to resemble Him more, to understand Him more. He even set a pattern for us to emulate in the life of Jesus. Jesus’ life also gives us a glimpse of how we are going to look and function. The “getting there” happens as we spend time with God, in prayer and in the Word. He gives us Himself. Incredible!!!

Getting hungry and pretty tired of my junk food diet. May I have more of Jesus, please? 

Jim Corbett