Christian | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

2/12/24 Look Past What is Evident

“There is great tumult in the spiritual realm. Much is being done to fulfill the times and seasons that will continue to usher in what you might call the end times. All is going as planned. All is in order as I see it. As I observe both the spiritual and physical realms, I see a great wonder to behold for those who are discerning enough to enjoy what is transpiring. To the casual observer, chaos, fear, uncertainty, and upheaval of their normal lifestyle will be all that is evident. What is happening in their little world will be so large to them that they will miss the wonder of the fulfillment of My plans that is taking place in their midst. Sad to say, that will be the plight of most of My church.

"As a woman in labor can only focus on the pain of childbirth, the world, and most of My people, will focus on only the physical manifestations that are before them. They will be tossed in every direction, responding to their own pain and fear. Trying to hold their tiny world together, they will struggle to survive rather than see the wondrous opportunities to bring souls into My kingdom. Those who have heard My call over the years and have been trained to interpret what is happening from My perspective, however, will have the strength and wisdom to look past what is evident and see the forthcoming birth, not the pain of labor. They will prosper. They will not waste a moment of the precious time that is left in padding their own comfort zones. Powerful, loving, and totally free, they will go about My business with only My plans and My desires in mind. Thankful for the time, they will relish the time that is left as opportunity and promised fulfillment. One in heart with Me, My real church will see clearly, love deeply, and rise above their physical lives. Moving in My power, they will walk under My anointing and bring many home with them.”

2 Cor. 2:14-16a NIV

14) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us everywhere spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

16a) To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

2 Cor. 4:17-18 AMP

17) For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparison and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],

18) Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.

I am amazed at how alive and well my flesh is after all these years. For many years, I have studied the times and seasons. I have often preached about the coming of the Lord and the chaos that will happen just before that wondrous event. I know that only the strength of the Lord will allow any of us to overcome what is ahead, but in that strength we will be able to prosper and truly be victorious. Why then, do I bounce around between wonder, joy, and fear?

Forgive me, Lord. Give me Your strength. Let me see and function only from Your perspective,

Jim Corbett

2/12/24 Pursuing a Higher Standard

As a husband and father, would you do anything to change your ways if you realized the lives of your wife and children are gifts that will be presented to God one day? Who they become will be laid at the feet of our Lord. Because you hold these offices, you’re a steward of those lives. You’re responsible to provide an atmosphere for them to become all they can be in Christ and you’ll answer to God for the result.

You see, as Christian men, you and I are called to a higher standard than those who live in the world. We’re to love more, serve more, and have God’s higher purposes in mind for everything we do. We are God’s representatives on this earth. He owns our lives, which makes us stewards of them for His honor and glory.

In the world, husbands and fathers are considered a success if their marriage is outwardly OK and their children are accepted by society’s standards. You have a higher call. God asks that your marriage be an example of the relationship of Christ and His church. He asks that your children come to know Him personally through their submission to Jesus as their Savior and Lord and serve Him with all their hearts. He asks you to pave the way for that to happen through the power of the Holy Spirit. Success in His eyes is far different than the supposed success of the world. Which will you choose?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/10/24 Being the Blessing

“Are you really aware of those who are around you? When you are blessed, is it good for your community of believers or do you consume your blessings upon yourself? I place you in the midst of others so that they benefit from who you are and what you have to offer. Some need an attentive ear. Others need a service. Still others need My financial wealth, which I have entrusted to you. All of them need the Jesus that resides in you. Are you really aware of that? Is that your mode of thinking when you see them? Jesus saw the needs and died for them. You have been given the same eyes to see and a heart to love because He dwells in you. Are you using them, or have you closed them so that you can serve yourself?”

Rom. 8:5b-11 NIV

5b) …but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

6) The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;

7) the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

8) Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

9) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

10) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

11) And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Some time ago, I talked to an individual who stated that the Lord gave him a financial windfall. He was obviously excited and with good reason. After our conversation, I began to think about the things that he said. It was then I realized that nothing was said about what the Lord wanted to do with His blessing. Being familiar with where this man lives and understanding the needs all around him, it came to me that the blessing was not for him. It was to bless others.

The man had more than enough to live on and was wealthy already by almost any standards. In the spirit, I saw that the Lord was trying to make him a conduit of blessing, one through which mighty rivers of financial wealth could flow to those sent to him, not hindered by greed. We need not judge, for every one of us is guilty of the same sin as this man. Money is not the only conduit of blessing that is misused. However we are blessed, we are to use those blessings only how the Lord wants us to use them. They are not always only for us.

Make me a willing conduit, Lord,

Jim Corbett

2/10/24 Just Say Yes

Make sure you respond to the call God has for your life. Make sure you don’t choose to take the easier road by living a life that’s different than God intended.

If you follow hard after God, you’ll probably feel like you’re on the outside looking in within the church. I'm not talking about doing weird things that discredit the integrity of the Gospel. I mean that if you follow the example of the life of Jesus and move only when and where God tells you, people will not understand. You may find yourself giving away your possessions, taking a lesser job so you can reach people, or - heaven forbid - trusting God completely for your provision while you go into full time service.

One of the most heart-wrenching sights you'll ever see is the emptiness in the eyes of those who have not responded to the call of God, usually because of fear or their lust for worldly goods. Those desires may be simple things, like security, new clothes, or a new car. They understand deep down that they have heard the call of their Creator and have said "no" when asked to fulfill His desires for their lives. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will satisfy the emptiness of soul that follows.

After saying “no” to the Lord, most of them eventually find themselves working feverishly at some other ministry or filling a myriad of church positions to cover up the emptiness. The end result is almost always an involvement with other weary, often critical people who are also doing good works, attempting to make a difference of some sort to cover their pain, rather than following after God's original plan for their lives. How sad! How grievous to God. Just say yes!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/09/24 What More Do You Need?

“What is it going to take to break your heart and return to first love? What must I do to convince you that you live in very volatile times? How long before you begin to prepare in earnest for the return of Jesus? Do you see how your world is changing and could be unrecognizable in moments? Do you see how your planet is groaning as if in birth pains? What more do you need to get serious, really serious about your life with Me? Get your eyes off yourself and sell out to My plans. You are called for your specific generation. I have a plan for you. It’s time for you to really get on with it!”

Isaiah 28:9-10 TLB

9) ”Who does Isaiah think he is,” the people say, “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?

10) He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time and in such simple words!”

Isaiah 42:25 AMP

Therefore He poured out upon [Israel] the fierceness of His anger and the strength of battle. And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach]; it burned him, but he did not lay it to heart.

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.”

Jeremiah 12:5 AMP [But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take to flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan?

Let’s see! We have a holy God Who has been warning us to prepare at every turn. Our world is changing, groaning, and deteriorating minute by minute. We say that we know we are living in the end of the end times. Why is it that we remain selfish, self-centered, and secretly hoping that what we know is about to occur will not happen, so that we can remain as we are a little longer? Why will we not respond to what we know is a herald of repentance and bridal heart preparation, calling for a radical life change? Why are we so foolish as to shake off all the warnings?

I sense that the Lord is about to do what it takes to refine this generation of His own. I’m afraid that most of us will be walking around wide-eyed and drooling at the mouth, the same as those who are called foolish, when it happens. Instead of being prepared vessels who are able to pour the life of Jesus into those who need, we will be needy ourselves, consuming from those prepared to represent Jesus to the lost. All because we will not hear now!

Help me hear and act, Lord,

Jim Corbett

1 2 3 … 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 … 657 658 659

Posts navigation