Tag: Christianity

“I love how many of you are becoming so sensitive to My leading. I know that We’ve talked about this many times, but it really is important to Me. I need to tell everyone that they have been reconciled to Me. You are My missionaries. From My perspective, I know when and where you can be effective. That is where you must be. When you learn to hear Me correctly, I can trust you to be there as My agent.

"While you are learning absolute obedience, many times it may appear as if you have made a mistake in following My direction. You may look as if you have missed My will completely. Sometimes that may be the case, but don’t be alarmed. I can handle that. Sometimes, however, you will be exactly where I want you to be and everything still appears as if you did not hear Me properly. Nothing works, nothing fits, and nothing seems right. You may still be in My perfect will.

"I may be using you for many reasons that you can’t see at the time, and will possibly never understand. These are the times that you will hear foolish words like “Where He guides, He will provide” from the uninitiated, ignorant, or success-oriented Christian. Many tender, obedient hearts have been stifled by those who don’t understand My ways. I may even be allowing you to appear as a fool, so that I can reveal the unfair judgments and hardened hearts in the lives of those who are watching you. Your reaction to what looks like a mistake on your part is as important as your reaction to success.

"Don’t listen to those who have not spent enough time with Me to really hear Me and understand My ways. It will only confuse you and hinder My life from flowing through you. I will take much pleasure in guiding you throughout your time with Me. You continue to learn to listen to My voice and move in obedience. The outcome of your obedience is up to Me. Keep walking, keep trusting. I am pleased. You are My special project! I love seeing you grow up.”

John 7:6,8 NIV

6) Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right…

8) You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.”

Acts 21:12-14 NIV 

12) When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

13) Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

14) When he would not be dissuaded. We gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

 

Jesus was on a mission. Totally obedient, He moved when and where He was told. Fulfilling prophecies, personifying feasts, He had to count every step as ordained, for it was. No one understood His mission and His reasons for doing much of what He did. His death signified to those who had no understanding that He had definitely made a wrong turn somewhere.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have personally experienced or seen my faith-walking friends standing bare-faced and looking foolish because things seemingly did not work out following a step of obedience. I’m not talking about people making rash decisions. I’m talking about those with honest hearts, who spend months, years, and even more time seeking the Lord for their direction, only to seemingly find no answer after they step out.

Following the Lord does not always result in the American dream kind of ending. Jesus was crucified. Paul did go to jail. Most of the apostles died what appeared to be untimely deaths. Many, many people have been martyrs for the Lord because of their obedience and dedication.

Never let the perceived outcome hinder your ability to praise the Lord - knowing that you have been obedient - or hinder you from moving with Him the next time He calls you to a work. You are on a mission. Many in the church have been nullified by the need to look cool and prosperous. They can’t hear God. He can’t trust them.

You are being taught to hear His voice and move with Him, no matter what the others might do. The remnant heart longs only to please the Lord. Nothing else satisfies.

In the coming season, I am convinced that two functions will determine the true church of Jesus Christ. The first will be absolute obedience to the Lord. Listening and following only Him, the church will move in unison to accomplish His end-time work. The second will be looking only for the Lord. Fully ready, fully prepared, she will be purified and waiting hopefully.

Learning to listen and look,

Jim Corbett

“Do you realize that I have a Father’s love for you in the purest form? Because of what was won for you at the cross, We are in covenant. You are Mine! I watch over you. I desire to guide you and protect you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you grow up properly. My heart is for you and never against you. I love you!”

I Th. 5:24 AMP 

Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

Hebrews 13:5b AMP

…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

 

Children prosper under a good father, one who functions in love. There is always fertile soil to grow strong and healthy, which produces ripe, healthy fruit and feeds many with its goodness.

Father God provides rich soil for us to grow in. His heart is for us. His love is toward us. How wealthy we are as His children! What an opportunity to grow good and strong!

I love You, Father,

Jim Corbett

“I am calling you to prepare your heart to be completely in line with My heart.  Some of you are not heeding My call. Submit yourselves to Me, that I might bring you into the fullness of life. Allow Me to break your heart, that you might desire the things that I desire.

"I desire that none should perish. I desire for you to love your enemies. I desire that you place the interests of others before your own interests just as Jesus did. I desire that you look to heavenly things and discard all the ways of the world. Are these the things that you really desire?          Why, then, do you push aside those I bring to you who need to see Jesus? Why do you embrace the things of the world? You need to respond to My call. There will come a day when you won’t be able to hear Me because of your hardened heart. That will be a dark day for you!”

James 1:13-15 AMP 

13) Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.

14) But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).

15) Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

Rev. 2:2-5 NIV

2) I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

3) You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4) Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.

5) Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

 

There is a vast difference between understanding and living under grace and mercy, and falling into complacency. There is no comparison between a heart that grieves because of the sin it embraces—sin it is continuously repenting of before the Lord—and the heart that has ignored the continual wooing and warnings of the Lord to repent. So many of us, who have walked a long time with the Lord, have become self-righteous, thinking that our Lord overlooks the lack of first love qualities in us because we have been with Him for so long, and have done so many things for Him. That’s a big oops!

Break my hardened heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“How do you think you’d fare if I had you in jungle survival training, instead of the training that I’ve had you in—to be My light to the world and to represent Jesus so more would come to Him? Suppose tomorrow when you woke up, the plane heading for the jungle was on the runway, your parachute was being strapped on, and your flight plan showed the drop off point, which meant you would jump and remain in the jungle for one year. As of that very moment, there would be no more training. You would survive only to the extent to which you have already submitted to your training. How ready would you be?

"If you had submitted to survival training in the whimsical way that you have trained for My call, I’m afraid you wouldn’t last very long once you hit the jungle floor. You will not be able to represent Me properly as the times change either. You have not taken My training seriously. You have not embraced My instructions with all your heart; and, therefore, you are not ready for what is ahead.

"Soon you will need to draw upon My power to rise above all that is happening around you. Some of you still do not know how to do that. You need to take seriously what I am teaching you. Everything is for your good and for My plan. Submit fully to My training in your life. Embrace the trials; relish the hardships. Know that they are for your good and for My purposes to be fulfilled in you.”

Jer. 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?

Rom. 12:1-2 NIV

1) Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—which is your spiritual worship.

2) Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Titus 2:11-14 AMP 

11) For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind.

12) It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world.

13) Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

14) Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.

Heb. 12:9-10 AMP

9) Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?

10) For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.

 

It is a well-known fact that those who do not submit to training, whether on the job or in the military, do as much harm to those around them as they do to themselves, because they have little knowledge when called upon to do their jobs. Most of the time, they have little idea of how much harm their foolishness causes.

In the body of Christ at present, few of us know how to trust the Lord. Most of us squirm and flutter, trying to remove ourselves from the uncomfortableness of His training; instead of standing firm, waiting for the work to be done in us.

Because we are so selfish and put our own comfort above the welfare of others, we will not have what’s needed when the world needs to see Jesus. We will look and act like all the others as they go about in a blind panic when difficult situations arise. That isn’t the way Jesus would act. That should not be the way we act. Sadly, most of us will not know any other way.

Teach me Your way, Lord. Make me listen!

Jim Corbett

“You need to walk in the forgiveness that I have provided for you. The enemy of your soul would delight in having you remain under the condemnation of what you have done in the past, even those things you did before you came to Me. He continually reminds you of your sin.

"My Holy Spirit always reminds you of complete forgiveness and acceptance. The person you were before you accepted the Lordship of Jesus over your life is dead. There is no life there anymore. Because you have chosen to come to Me, I have taken care of your past. I am in charge of your present days, days that I have appointed for you. I have plans for your future.

"Walk in freedom. Pray for those you have harmed when I bring them to mind. Place them in My hands once and for all time. I will take care of them. It is My job, not yours, to focus on how they are to be healed. It’s what I promised to do for you. You do what I call you to do this day. Walk in My love and forgiveness. Looking back will harm Our relationship. It will rob you of the joy I have for you. Looking ahead will overwhelm you. It will cause you to fear the future. I am sufficient for today. Hold My hand; I am here for you.”

Ps. 103:11-12 AMP

11) For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

12) As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12) Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

II Cor. 5:17 AMP

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!

 

As the Lord teaches us humility, He has a way of showing each of us how much we need Him. He reveals the darkness of our own hearts, so that we can look past the failings of others and extend mercy to them. His acts of love are far different from the condemnation in which Satan attempts to have us reside.

The enemy wants to make sure that we concentrate on our failures, rather than on the new life we have in Christ. It is a trap full of entanglements that, if given enough attention, will keep us from walking in the freedom with which Christ has set us free.

Show me who I am in You when I start to listen to the lies, Lord,

Jim Corbett