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11/04/20 Never Minimize Others

Do you know that your wife and your children have a right to trust you to keep quiet about their failings? Do you know that no one outside of your marriage or your family has a right to know about the areas the Lord is working on in either one of them? As a spiritual covering, your job is to create an atmosphere of love and trust in your marriage and family, so that everyone can be free to fail and grow without the eyes of others scrutinizing their every move or judging them “in Christian love.”

Often the body of Christ goes around expressing “prayer needs” concerning members of their family, exposing their sins for the whole church to discover. Is it any wonder that the struggling child or the unsaved wife has no desire to enter into that atmosphere? Whether you know it or not, whether you intend to or not, you are minimizing their worth in the eyes of others.

While the Lord is working out the refinements necessary to help all members of your family to become Christ-like, you are called upon to give them love and the freedom to fail within the privacy of your family. You’re to build a safety zone for them. In your conversations with them and with others, you’re to maximize opportunities to affirm their worth, pray for them, and never minimize them - especially to others. Give the Lord the freedom to heal them. Make sure that others understand the qualities they have and the wealth they’ve been given by God, no matter what state of growth they may be in. They are valuable in His eyes; your job is to fully understand that value and express it to others when you refer to them. Will you do that?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/03/20 Keep Yourself Available

“Reflect on the things that I have been telling you over the past years. Become sensitive once again to the times and seasons in which you live. Do not allow your daily routine to desensitize you to what I am doing in the heavenlies. You must keep yourself available to Me. I may need you at an instant’s notice, so do not become spiritually sluggish. Your training will not be in vain. Many across the land have been trained over the years to be ready to move when I call them. You are one of them. Be alert.

"Do not sleep just because I seem to tarry. I am faithful to My promises. Others may not be able to hear My voice and move at My desire, but I have had you in training to do so. When I call, I am confident that you will answer. Be ready.”

Isaiah 48:3 NIV

“I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.”

Isaiah 66:9 AMP

Shall I bring to the [moment of] birth and not cause to bring forth? says the Lord. Shall I Who causes to bring forth shut the womb? says your God.

Upon observing the first century church, it seems that the Lord kept them in a constant state of preparedness. They believed that the Lord was returning for them momentarily. I picture them doing their daily tasks having one eye to the sky, looking for Jesus to come for them. Even though the Lord didn’t return in their generation, that continuous state of awareness made them available for use by the Lord. Their hearts were ready.

We Christians, in our humanness, have a tendency to doze off spiritually if the Lord doesn’t move in our time frames. We also have been known to interpret, or misinterpret, God’s reasons for doing things. Often, we receive a specific word, whether personally or over time as part of the body of Christ and place our own idea on the time and place of the fulfillment of that Word, which leaves much room for discouragement and heartbreak when the Lord doesn’t follow our plans.

For some time now, the Lord has been wooing His people to a closeness with Him. He has been asking us to truly separate ourselves from the trappings of the world and strive to become a true representative of Jesus. Many believe that this recent call is bridal preparation, awaiting the soon coming of Jesus.

Whether that is true or not (I believe that it is) has little to do with the importance of our being obedient to the call. Our portion as followers of Jesus is to obey whatever the Lord chooses to do, simply because it is right. We must never allow ourselves to be swayed from continually pressing in, or tire of the preparation for which He is asking, no matter what daily circumstances might bring or the length of time it takes between the call and the fulfillment. The reason for this move or any move of God and the time of its completion are rightfully in His hands, not ours.

Putting it all aside simply because You asked me to do so,

Jim Corbett

11/03/20 Above All, Choose Love

This life continually offers us choices. Many of those choices are slam dunks because the options available are simple. Right is always right, and wrong is always wrong. There are many times, however, when choices are not simple. Sometimes weighing all the factors doesn’t lead to making choices clear.

Motivated by love, Jesus made a choice to leave heaven and come to earth. In the garden, He made the choice to do His Father’s will. It was also a choice motivated by love. His whole time on this earth was motivated by the love He had for His Father and for us. We are to walk as He walked if we call ourselves His followers.

As a husband and father, you have been placed in the position of being responsible before God for those you steward. You are presented with many choices that determine the outcome in situations that impact the lives of others. It’s a responsibility of your God-given office and it’s important to Him.

Some choices are easy. When choices that require more than simple decisions are before you, you can never go wrong if you choose love when you make them. You’re to lay down your life as Jesus laid down His life. You’re to live for the best interests of others. If the choice you face is doing something either for your best interest or the best interests of others, follow the life decisions of Jesus. Choose love! Make the choice that is in the best interests of the others involved rather than yours. Jesus did it; so should you at every opportunity. Abba likes that!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/02/20 Occupy

“Why do you not use what I have placed in your hand until I move in the direction for which you have been praying? You are waiting for Me to give you clear direction; that is good. That is what I have formed you to do. In the meantime, there is much you can do to proclaim My Word, minister to people; and simply love those who need to see the love of Jesus. I have called you to occupy. You miss so much by not imparting the life that I have given you. Tarry with Me for your specific instructions; but while you wait, walk through the smaller doors that I provide for you. Meet the needs of those around you. Others need to see who you are in Me.”

John 4:34 NIV

”My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

John 6:57 AMP

Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.

Romans 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

So often we misunderstand the way the Lord wants us to occupy. We confuse waiting for specific directions on a certain matter with the commands we have been given that will never change. We have been commanded to love. We are told to proclaim the Gospel. Every day, we are to live to meet the needs of others with the means we have so far been given. These are part of our life in Christ.

Often, the Lord uses these general instructions to lead us to the specific task for which we have been created. While you are waiting for the Lord to unfold His plan or provide the resources needed to accomplish your specific ministry, you are called to do two things - spend time with Him and present Jesus to others with your actions. These are always the same.

Show me the difference between waiting for You and occupying, Lord,

Jim Corbett

11/02/20 Affirming Your Children

Do your children know of their intrinsic value? I’m not talking about telling them how well they’re performing. I’m talking about how valuable they are to God and to you. If you are a father who is performance-oriented and you place your expectations on your children, they may grow up to be successful because of the striving attitude you’ve taught them; but they’ll never be able to rest in the worth they have simply because they’re breathing.

God has called everyone into being. His desire was for all of your children to be born, and He calls them good. As a father, you are to carry on His attitude toward them. You’re commanded to build in them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a knowledge of His love and acceptance of them. You’re to show them they are accepted just as they are and not for what they do. It begins with teaching them how much you appreciate them as His representatives.

If you are not in the habit of affirming your children and have set a course where they need your approval to maintain their worth, they’re on the road to a life of needing that approval even after you’re gone. If they don’t have it, they will need to find it from some other source. Many lives are spent seeking approval of some kind because you, as a father, haven’t established God’s kind of approval in them through your words and actions toward them.

Begin now! Seek the Lord as to how you can be used to change the course of the direction of the lives of your children. Ask Him to show you the wounds you may have already caused and how He wants to use you to heal them. Commit to creating an atmosphere of affirming their worth with your words and actions, so they are free to be who they are. Give them the freedom to fail without your disapproval. Give them the freedom to live their lives, not yours. Show them Jesus through your attitude toward them. You will be amazed at how beautiful they really are.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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