Tag: Christian

“After everything is completed, what is really most important? At what cost will you attempt to maintain your reputation? What price have you paid to remain right? How has your need to express your opinion exhibited the heart of Jesus? Shallow victories come at a high price. Only fools are willing to pay for that kind of success. There is still time to make right all of the things that have masked My reasons for your associations. You can take the posture of Christ. You can lose! It’s OK. You can be wrong! Big deal!

"It really is pleasing in My eyes when you give more than all of the others with no desire to gain anything for yourself. Any other posture for living robs you of the joy that I have intended for you. Give more! Love deeper! When no one else is loving you, you love anyway. I am pleased with that kind of behavior. I can use you to represent Jesus.”

1 John 4:18 NIV

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The man who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

It has taken me a long time to begin to understand about perfect love and what the Lord was saying in the above verse. If you would replace the word “punishment” with the more accurate word “loss” the meaning of the verse rings with clarity and amplifies the spirit of the surrounding verses.

Jesus came to “lose” in the sight of those who couldn’t understand, all so that we could “win.” He had no fear of losing His reputation; therefore, He was able to esteem everyone higher than Himself. He “owned” nothing, so there was no fear of loss in His heart. No one can take what is not owned. He even gave His life away long before Pilate attempted to take it. Whatever Pilate did, therefore, held no fear for Jesus. He could even love Pilate - and those who were cursing Him, and those who drove the nails in His hands; and every one of us who reject His ways - perfectly.

Because Jesus loved perfectly, He could function freely in His Father’s will. In fact, His Father’s will was far more important than His own. He loved His Father so perfectly that His own will meant nothing. When functioning like Jesus means more to us than our need to be right, the need to protect our reputation, or the need to win at the expense of someone else losing, our Lord will be able to use us to represent Him to the world.

Forgive me for my priorities, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Holiness is not something that you set your mind on. It is a step-by-step positioning of your heart for Me to do a mighty work in you. You can never attain holiness in your own strength and determination. It must be accomplished in you by repentance and surrender; otherwise you can claim some part in it. That would be pride. You need to come to Me often. We will talk about the areas of your life of which you need to repent. We will talk of obedience to My Word. We will examine your areas of unforgiveness and anger. I will lead you to repentance. You will suffer the loss of control over your life. It will be painful to your flesh. Each step, however, is a very important step on the road to My accomplishing holiness in you.”

 Hebrews 5:8-9 AMP

8) Although He was a Son, He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered

9) And, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him.

Rom. 6:16 AMP

Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)?)

Rom. 6:19 AMP

I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members [and faculties] as servants to impurity and ever-increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members [and faculties] once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) [which leads] to sanctification.

Rom. 6:22 AMP

But now since you have been set free from sin and have become the slaves of God, you have your present reward in holiness and its end is eternal life.

 

Taken from The Overcoming Life by Jim and Merry Corbett

Jesus Even Learned Through Suffering

 Often, the message conveyed in Heb.5:8 drops to the ground before it impacts our lives.  The plan of Satan is to see that we never really receive the truth that this Scripture imparts. If he can stop us from receiving, he can nullify our effectiveness, or completely destroy our relationship with the Lord because of our misunderstanding of His ways. Here’s a real key:

Through suffering (denial,) obedience is learned (Heb.5:8.) Obedience leads to righteousness (Rom.6:16,) and righteousness leads to holiness (Rom 6:19,) which results in eternal life (Rom. 6:22.)

Most of us spend our lives avoiding suffering of any kind. Our comfort is of primary importance to us. Most of us also wonder why we have little power to obey God. The role that suffering plays never enters our rose-colored picture unless we allow the Holy Spirit to break through the fog that hinders our understanding. How can we progress, if we do not recognize the first step to holiness?

Jesus is holy. His coming from heaven, His life, and the heart position in the way He died show the character of One Who is holy. He asks us to be holy and says that He is holy, giving us the example to follow. Our hope is to become like Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Complete Your work in me, Lord,

Jim Corbett