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6/27/22 Time to Respond

Why is it we so often need to be afflicted in order to consent to being changed? If only we could respond when, as the Word states, His kindness leads us to repentance.

I believe the key lies in getting to know our God, and coming to an understanding of Who Jesus really is. If we don’t really know Who Jesus is, how can we know what we ought to be like? The more we know Him, the clearer it becomes Who He isn’t. With Him as our example, we begin to see those things in us which are not acceptable - things we just didn’t consider all that serious before they were exposed by God’s Truth - Jesus.

The world can’t possibly see Jesus if they see only us. Our families will need to find some other way to know Him if we don’t choose to know Him ourselves. They won’t be able to rely on us to help them find truth. Our offices of husband and father will become those of a weak steward. That is not a good thing!

“Lord, please draw us. We can only pursue a relationship with You and choose Your ways over our ways by Your grace - whether it be through kindness or affliction. Help us, Lord!”

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

6/25/22 Given Chances

“Do you realize how much I cherish those around you? I love them as much as I love you. Some are already Mine. Others are being given chances to see Jesus in action through you. Make sure that you love them. Make sure that you become aware of their needs and give those needs as much credence as you give your own.

"Devote your life to them as Jesus did. They are at the center of My heart just as you are. Hold them close for Me. Show them My love. Show them Who Jesus is by showing them who you have become because of Him.”

1 Cor. 11:1 NIV

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

2 Cor. 5:20a NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

I John 3:16-18 AMP

16) By this we come to know (progressively to recognize, to perceive, to understand) the [essential] love: that He laid down His [own] life for us; and we ought to lay [our] lives down for [those who are our] brothers [in Him].

17) But if anyone has this world’s goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him?

18) Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).

Some people, who come into your life, you will be able to embrace. Others, you won’t. Some will embrace you. Others will cheat you. Most will tolerate who you are. A few will love you. All those who come into your life are brought to you by the Lord, so that they can see who Jesus is, process what they see; and decide if they want to know more about Him. How well are you representing Him to your world?

Help me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

6/25/22 Are You Ready?

One day, possibly early in the morning, a worn sandal touched the edge of the Jordan River. The time had come for the next portion of the plans of God to be set in motion. Quietly, with no fanfare except for the comments made by John, the baptizer, the eternal consequences of people’s choices from that time onward would be made known to them. The people who lived in that time period would need to conform to the plan that unfolded before them, whether they wanted to or not. Their lives had changed from that very moment. No one could stop what had been set in motion. This season in the plan of God will continue until He says it’s over.

Shortly before this season concludes, it is generally believed that an application of grace will be available to the end generation of people, so that they might reveal to the world the true character of Jesus Christ. It is also an accepted teaching that there will be a wooing, or heralding, to draw intimately close to Jesus for those Christians who choose to be a part of that move of God, shortly before the final call.

For several years now, the discerning ones within the church have sensed that particular wooing to holiness, an exhortation to deep repentance, a bridal call to single-heartedness and complete submission to the will of God. Make no mistake, as sure as the times changed when that sandal of the Messiah was on the edge of the Jordan, the present times will change when the Lord decides to finalize His current bridal call. Have you responded? Maybe you, as a husband and father, should consider doing so before He says, “Enough; all is completed.” Maybe those you are a steward of will benefit from your decision to prepare spiritually for what is ahead. What do you think?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

6/24/22 No Other Gods

“Have you noticed the hardness of heart in some of My children? Have you missed the joy they once had? Do you see the unrest settling in My church as they begin to trust the world’s ways for their security? So many are working harder to get ahead, when I am calling them to spend time with Me. So many are working for the things they have purchased to calm their unrest.

"In their attempt to buy possessions to give them happiness, they have substituted a false god for their provision. That god has never really met their needs and is powerless as things become darker. The god they looked to has now become the god that has no answer. Everything they purchased from him to satisfy their foolish needs are now the overwhelming burdens for which they must pay.

"Make no mistake - I am God. Serve no other gods. Turn back to Me with all of your heart and I will give you true rest. Turn completely to Me and I will give purpose to your life.”

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.”

Psalm 25:12-14 NIV

12) Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13) He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14) The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

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 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

As the purifying of the children of God intensifies, those who say that they love Jesus - but really only love themselves and the world - become distinguished by their actions. True motives for living are revealed as trials and challenges are placed in their lives. As sad as it is to see and as horrible as the prospects are for these selfish hearts, it brings great opportunity to function as Jesus would in their midst. We can learn to care as He did for their souls. We can be an example of inspired living in a dark world. We can show confidence in a Father Who is all and everything that’s ever needed.

The life you and I live is important to God, to us, and to others. It is important to God, because we are placed as His presence in a dark world, as the life of Jesus flows through us to those who need to see Him. Our lives are important to us, because we have found the answer to life in Jesus Christ and are aligning our hearts continually with His heart, as we walk with purpose through our days in service to the Lord. Our lives are important to others, because God can use our Christ-centered lives to show them His unconditional love, address their needs, and share His plan of redemption and reconciliation. Hopefully, they too will be drawn into their own relationship with Him.

Teach me to not waste a minute of my life, Lord,

Jim Corbett

6/24/22 If Someone Would Only Say I’m Sorry!

Without knowing it, most people are walking around with a wounded spirit because of the harm someone has caused them in the past. We may have forgiven them, which is the only way to bring about complete healing; but somehow the pain just doesn’t go away. What we don’t know is that our spirit, in essence, has a hole in it. It is as if we have been stabbed, possibly many times, by the words or actions of others. We are trying to function as if we’re whole; but, in reality, we’re attempting to cover our wounds with a tiny bandage to stop the bleeding, while continuing on with life. Spiritual wounds are very real and very debilitating.

When asked, I have found that most people who walk in woundedness have never had anyone who wounded them say that they’re sorry, either because the offender is unaware or incapable, or the individual has passed away, leaving things unresolved. Standing in for those who can’t or won’t repent to the wounded person, I have said “I’m sorry. Please forgive me for all the harm I’ve caused you,” and I extend that apology to you as well as a representative of the man or woman who has harmed you and is incapable of asking for your forgiveness. Will you make the choice to forgive that person?

If you receive that apology, and can truly forgive the offender (whether man, woman, father, mother, family member, or friend) as if he or she had said the words, you will be well on your way to discovering why you have led a powerless life as a man, or why you keep attempting to find something to fill the void that you feel as a woman. Your healing has begun.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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