Tag: Christianity

“There is a separation that is occurring within My church. Often, and in many ways, I have revealed My desire for you to seek Me with all of your heart. Some of you have done so. Others of you have continued on your way, acknowledging My calling; but wandering in your own way and denying My heart. To you, I say, “You have set your own course; I will allow you to follow it to its end. The path that you have chosen is full of briars and thorns, all designed to purify your heart.”

 “To you who have responded to My calling over the years, even though you see little progress in your life, I know your allegiance. I am blessed by your sincerity and will honor your feeble attempts to heed My call. Soon, I will equip you beyond your wildest imagination. You will become who you have desired to be. You will be made holy. You will be empowered to proclaim My glory, free from any hindrances that you possess at present.

 “I will have a people. Because you have sought Me with all of your heart, because you have not given up even in your times of weakness, I will make you My mouthpiece. I will bring you to intimacy. I will pour My life through you so that others can embrace Who I am.

 “You will walk above the ways of the world, and into the ways of the Spirit and overcome. You have given Me all that you have. In your eyes it was very little. In My eyes, it was enough to hold you with high esteem and trust you with much. Keep pressing in. I am with you. I am about to move on your behalf.”

Acts 4:13 AMP

Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

 

Over the years, I have had the privilege of meeting many people in different stages of their walk with Christ. I have seen those who appear mighty in the Lord, those who look as if they have little to offer Him if anything, and many in between. In my foolishness, I have often judged who is most “holy” by what they have and how much they seem to be blessed. In my infant days, some of my friends and I would follow “anointed” ministers, hungering to find truth and a firm grasp on what Christianity really was. We longed for power, miracles, and the presence of the Lord. Sometimes we saw it manifested.

Over the years, I have learned that the Lord judges what is in a person’s heart, not what is evidenced by his abilities. To do otherwise would be unfair to those of us with limited resources. It would mean that He is selective in His process of bringing us to Him.

I am convinced that He responds in favor of those who cry out in their weakness, rather than those who believe that they are progressing steadily and have no need of being brought low. It has become evident that the humble heart is the heart that can receive the Lord in His fullness and the independent heart has little room for His presence.

In the times ahead, I believe that the Lord will manifest who He really is, as He has always done, in those who have little to offer in their natural abilities. To do otherwise would confuse the message with the messenger. The time for the slick evangelist, the charismatic preacher, and the well-oiled, highly practiced presentation is over. The presence of the Lord will be manifested through those who have no ability within themselves. Their desire for intimacy with God as a priority will generate the presence of the Lord in their lives. Absence of self will bring the character of Christ to the forefront. They will disappear; Jesus will be seen.

Jesus, make me invisible so that You are visible,

Jim Corbett

“You, My people, have missed some steps in your walk with Me. You have avoided the cross, fled the grave, and attempted to live a resurrection life without My life-giving hand upon you. When Jesus returned from My presence, He was flesh and bone. There was no blood or humanness in Him. That blood was shed so that you don’t have to shed yours to be like Him. Your inner being has been renewed into the likeness of Jesus. It has been born alive to the Spirit and responds only to the Spirit.

“Pray that your inner man is endued with power and might by the power of My Holy Spirit to be free to respond to My ways. Pray for the determination to no longer walk in the futile life of your flesh. Pray for the power to become dead to all that resembles the world and its ways, so that you will be aligned with My ways and in My perfect will. It is the way of the cross. It is the way of Jesus.”

Luke 24:39 NIV

“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

John 20:17 NIV

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.”

1 Cor. 15:50 NIV

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Ephesians 3:16 AMP

May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

 

Many of us attempt to approach the things of God by using our own reasoning and strength. That is one of the main reasons that our attempts to approach God and affect our world fail. The things of God are spiritual, not religious - and certainly not of the flesh.

The removal of our flesh and the entering into the power of our covenant with God, in any equation with God for that matter, always follows the pattern established by Jesus. It is first the cross - an initial submission of our entire being to the Lord with subsequent submissions each time our flesh intrudes upon our new life. Then comes the tomb - the waiting on God as if dead, so that Lordship is completed in us. Finally, there is the resurrection - the empowering of our spiritual being by the Holy Spirit, that new inner man receiving spiritual power and might, responding in spiritual ways. The result is the ability to flow in the compassions of Jesus through the perfection of God’s established ways.

Do it Your way, Lord,

Jim Corbett

 

“I have the antidote for anything and everything that is wrong. His Name is Jesus. He has overcome the world and its ways. He has overcome all of the frailties of mankind. He has overcome all future perils. You can trust Him! Stop looking at the challenges that face you. Look to Jesus. Stop looking at who you are not. Look to Jesus. He will make you whoever He wants you to be. Jesus is everything! Forever.”

Romans 8:33-34 NIV

33) Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

34) Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

2 Cor. 5:18-20a AMP

18) But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].

19) It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).

20a) So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us.

I Cor. 3:11  AMP

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Hebrews 1:3 AMP

He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.  When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high…

 

I love the idea that a perfect Person made the perfect sacrifice, so that anyone who chooses to believe can be perfected in God’s eyes. To me, that thought carries over into the day to day working out of life’s situations and challenges. In fact, I believe that they are there to be used as tools to help perfect us. If that is true, what is there to worry about? We have a perfect Savior Who knows how to work things out perfectly – especially in us!

Teach me to trust only You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do not shake off the desire that I am placing in your heart. I am calling those who will listen to an intimacy with Me. Personal attention has been won for you at the cross of Jesus Christ. You have a covenant right to spend time with Me.

“It came at a high price, the blood of My Son. Don’t take this call lightly. It is for your eternal good. I will show you My heart. I will show you My will. I will prepare you for what lies ahead in your life. I will give you the wisdom, strength, and power to overcome everything that attempts to destroy you. Come close now. I am waiting.”

Mark 15:37-38 AMP

37) Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His life.

38) And the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Romans 2:4 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

Romans 12:1 NIV

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.

 

In the world, access to the heart of a friend is earned. It takes time to develop the trust and vulnerability that is required. True friends understand the privilege it is to have that kind of access and they guard it carefully.

Jesus has won access to His Father for us. When the temple veil was torn from top to bottom, it would never separate us from Him again. Access from the holy place into the holy of holies, once reserved only for the high priest once a year, is now available to all those who have given themselves over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

What is so incredibly sad is that few of us actually tarry with God, the Creator of all things, even though we are invited to do so. Think of it, we are invited into the presence of the One Who gave us life, knows our hearts, and desires to spend time with us. When we do not go to Him, is that pride, ignorance, fear, busyness, or a combination of them all?

Form in me whatever it takes to be able to come to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“How much have you heeded My warnings to you? How much have you modified your lifestyle, realigned your priorities, and eliminated your excesses in response to the warnings given to prepare for the perilous times ahead? I am not asking you if you have made material provisions to “hunker down.” I am not asking if you have fortified your positions of comfort. Before you answer Me, I already know.

“Most of you have done little or nothing to prepare yourselves in a way that pleases Me in order for My purposes to be accomplished. Your world tells you to “go on as usual.” It tells you to not be afraid. It has no foundation for those boasts. It has never listened to Me and has no idea what I will be doing during the times ahead. I tell you to prepare for many changes. I am requiring significant modifications to your life if you want to flow with Me in the times ahead. Today, much has already happened in the heavenlies. It is only the beginning of a massive tide that will require uninterrupted communication between Us if you are to be prosperous during these seasons.

“You need to be able to hear only My directions. You will need to discard everything that stands in the way of Our fellowship. You must turn your priorities to My work, My plan, My purpose for your life. Invest radically in those who are being called out now to accomplish significant areas of duty. Invest radically in your time with Me. I have been calling you. You have not come. You have not changed even a small portion of your world to get in line with My call to you

“All the time, everything is changing around you. You are like an ostrich with its head in the sand. Stop being foolish. Time is running out. Prepare My way. Use My provisions My way. Seek Me My way. It is the only way.”

Isaiah 30:21 NIV

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

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.”

 

Have you ever attempted to communicate with someone who had no desire to hear what you had to say? No matter what you said, no matter how much you waved your hands or explained in detail what you meant, he stood - stone-brained – and just looked at you? After you walked away, did you feel that nothing you said or did had any effect on his actions or even his thinking in the slightest bit? I might as well have talked to a tree, you said.

I believe that is how most of us must appear to Father God at present. He has warned us of special times on the horizon. He has told us to prepare ourselves for the good of others and the implementation of His work. He has called us to an intimacy with Him, so that we are equipped to prosper in the times ahead. We have stood with glazed eyes and wandering minds, while He has expressed the importance of His words. Most of us have done little or nothing to heed His words. In fact, few have even acknowledged that He was speaking.

In the time of need, Jesus always did what was best for others. His life was spent for those who hated Him. If any of us have heard even a portion of what the Lord has been saying in these past years about preparation, we have taken His words and chosen to prepare only for ourselves, without even thinking of those Jesus cares about.

We need to respond to some difficult questions, like: What is your priority today? If the Lord called you to pray all day, this very day, and the next, and the next, would you do what is necessary to respond? Or isn’t that as important as your job?

Where is your treasure invested? How many workers are doing without because you are hoarding His wealth?

How will you respond to the fast-approaching tragedies?  Of whom will you think during a catastrophe - the one next to you, or only yourself? What would Jesus do?

Look around at today’s church. We haven’t heard! We haven’t moved! We haven’t responded to the many calls of our Lord! We do not know of what spirit we are!

Move this fool, Lord,

Jim Corbett