Tag: Christianity

“Do not fear tomorrow. I understand that you are recognizing the times and seasons in which you live. Your world is volatile. Your life could and sometimes will change in a matter of moments. Instead of fearing all the possibilities that may come your way, I want you to redeem the time. Allow the wisdom that I have given you to drive you to an understanding of the importance of each moment. As soon as tomorrow, you and I could be face to face. What will you hold in your hands for Jesus? You have every opportunity right now to gain crowns to present to Him then. What are you doing about it? Come to Me. Spend time with Me to gain the proper heart for your next actions. Then go forth in My power. I am waiting.”

Isaiah 8:11-14 AMP

11) For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12) Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.

13) The Lord of hosts – regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].

14) And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Matt. 25:1-6 NIV

1) “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2) Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

3) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

4) The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

5) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6) At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’”

 

The tomorrows that we should be conscious of are those days in which our time might not be spent in pleasing the Lord. We need to consider the ways in which we might be more prepared to have what is needed spiritually to overcome the difficult situations that might be presented to us.

Are we ready to love those who hate us? Are we ready to stand when others run in fear? Will we glorify the Lord when it may cost us our lives? These are very real possibilities for the future of our land. Maybe a revisiting of our priorities might be in order while there is still time to do something about them.

Prepare my heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Have you noticed? The world would love you to take on a war mentality. In the heavenlies, a spirit has been released to bring an awareness of the seasons in a manner that is distorted. Its companion spirit is fear, which causes you to react emotionally. The intent is to distract unknowing, immature believers into focusing on those who act like the enemy, rather than focusing on those who are open to receive Jesus. Sometimes they are one and the same. The false spirit would tell you to hate, to protect your rights, to fight for your comforts. It would show you all the wrongs there are in the world and would have you become so busy attempting to correct them that you have little time for Me and My ways. That spirit loves to get you into fights, especially righteous sounding ones. Don’t fall for the lies.

"I tell you to lay down your life for those who hate you. I tell you to return to your first love. I want you to become so enamored with Jesus that you will look past all the wrongs and spiritual illnesses that are before you and focus on the need in each person to receive His love. If you derail the carnal spirit of fear, which leads to hate and war, and do all that you can to turn back to your first love qualities, you will overcome instead of being swallowed up and heading for only dead ends and fruitless battles. Listen to Me, not the lies of the enemy of your soul.”

Revelation 2:2-5 AMP 

2) I know your industry and activities, laborious toil and trouble, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot tolerate wicked [men] and have tested and critically appraised those who call [themselves] apostles (special messengers of Christ) and yet are not, and have found them to be impostors and liars.

3) I know you are enduring patiently and are bearing up for My name’s sake, and you have not fainted or become exhausted or grown weary.

4) But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].

5) Remember then from what heights you have fallen.  Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.

 

Do you remember your first focused love for something in your life? It could have been a person, a new car, or anything else that held all your attention. There was nothing more important to you during that time. Everything else was in the way of showering your love upon that person or object.

Remember when you first fell in love with Jesus and were basking in the freedom of absolute forgiveness and total awareness of the reality of God? In focused first love, there is nothing more important than the object of your love. Everything is on the periphery of your thinking. You are consumed with whatever has your affection.

The Father wants us to be that way about Jesus all the time. Not only is Jesus worthy of that kind of unshared devotion, but having Him as our true focus is the safest, most reliable road map for our lives. When we see only Him, we see only the Father and the Holy Spirit, too. That’s wonderfully safe, reliable company to keep. In them lies the Spirit of truth.

The world would have us fall for perceived truth. It would have us look at and react to visible circumstances, rather than to what is real. Reality is what surrounds the Lord. Reality is what is happening in the heavenlies, either allowed or initiated by the Lord. That is what is played out in front of us each day. Our necessary and proper response must be initiated only by having a focused first devotion to the Lord and His ways. That is freedom. That is true victory. It is why we have been born, and then reborn spiritually—so that we could function in that realm with our triune God. It is also pleasing to Him.

Wanting to return to loving only Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“If I gave you the same mercy that you give others, how would you fare? For that matter, if I, as your Father, devoted Myself to you with the same kind of devotion you have for Me and those around you, what would your life be like? If I were as committed to you as you are to Me, would you be able to trust Me? Would you have any reason to give Me your heart’s treasures so that I could represent them to others properly? Would you trust Me with your son’s reputation?

You know where I’m going with this. You ask Me to be faithful and I always am, I always will be; but you rarely hold your own life to the same standards. You expect forgiveness, all the while holding others to their offenses. You judge those around you but expect only mercy for yourself. Isn’t it time to drop all hypocrisy and turn your heart toward Me? Let’s work toward truth. Let’s clean out all those dirty little corners. I want you to be holy as I am holy. Let’s go for it!

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Matthew 5:7 NIV 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

 

Oh, boy, in your face truth! Most of us don’t really like to have our own lives placed as a standard for how others should deal with us. How much more difficult would it be to face the perspective of God dealing with us in the same way we deal with Him or those He expects us to love?

In many cases, the old saying, “We judge others by their actions; we judge ourselves by our intentions,” is quite accurate. The problem we face is that that kind of thinking is light years away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ—a Gospel that we say we believe, enforce, and adapt for our lives on a daily basis. What then, does that really make us?

Create in me a clean heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do not be too anxious to give to others those things that I share with you. Sometimes the most wonderful revelation of My Word is actually only a seed that I desire to plant in your spirit. I choose to plant it in the rich soil of your spirit to be nurtured for a season until it becomes a fruit-producing tree. If you give it away too soon because of your excitement, you will be giving only part of what I really wanted to share with you. That is immature fruit that gives little nourishment.  When I show you something when We are together, hold it close until I tell you that it is ready to be shared. At that time, the fullness of My presence accompanies it to its destination in the hearts of those who receive it. It will bring forth life.”

Psalm 111:2 NIV 

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Mark 4:24 AMP 

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you – and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

Luke 6:45 AMP

The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good),…

Ps. 1:2-3 AMP 

2) …he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

3) And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

 

Have you ever bounded from your time with God to share an incredible insight that you have just received, only to get a blank expression from the one to whom you were trying to explain it? Do the words, “You had to be there,” sound only too familiar? Have you ever attempted to do a teaching on what you have been shown and watched your words drop to the floor directly in front of your feet? Consider this.

Before you share with others something that the Lord is teaching you, allow it to develop fully in your spirit. Give it away only after you have spent many moments, hours, days, months, or even years with the Lord as He matures the lesson in your spirit, and you have been given the freedom to do so. You will be amazed at the result of fully grown fruit versus half-ripened fruit. Allow the Word of God to mature your gifts before you give them to others.

Teach me to own something before I give it away, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“How much of what you do has eternal consequence? Compare that with the carnal effects of your actions. My time frame for life as you know it is coming to a close. I am about to put into effect plans that will modify most of the handles that people use to bolster their lives. Things will soon change, and few will know how to react.

"You need to consider your lives available for My use alone. I need to train you for the coming times. I need all of your heart, so that you have answers when others don’t. Surrender fully to Me. Make Me your priority for living. I will show you the heart of Jesus. I will show you how to prosper when the world reels in confusion.”

Psalm 25:12-14 NIV 

12) Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13) He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14) The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

Isaiah 2:22 AMP 

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

It is so easy to forget why we are on this earth. The distractions of the world and everyday living take our eyes from our real purpose for having breath in our body.

Here is what I believe the Word says about our lifespan in very simple terms. I believe that each of us is born to make a choice as to who we will serve for eternity. Either we choose Jesus or we remain separated from Him forever.

After we choose Jesus, we are to develop in the intimacy that our Father God has provided for us. That intimacy will produce the character of Christ in us. We are to then present the life of Jesus - which has been developed within us - to others, so that they have the opportunity to make the same choice we did. Everything we do, as we function from day to day, either furthers that goal or hinders it.

Help me show them You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett