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11/30/23 Saying I’m Sorry

For some of us macho guys, saying “I’m sorry” is very difficult, especially if our parents never told us they were sorry for anything. Let’s face it; we all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes occur through our ignorance, our upbringing, or our sin.

As a husband and father, your words and actions have a very big impact on your family. Your undoneness may be revealed every time you open your mouth or with every reaction you exhibit regarding the challenges you encounter involving your wife or children. Sometimes that inability to deal with things properly will cause separation. Maybe your children have separated from you in their hearts or your marriage may be far less than you ever thought it would be.

Usually in these situations, we have a tendency to replace love for our children with discipline, or take on hard work instead of communicating with our wives. The hope that things will get better is a whole lot easier than dealing directly with the issues that have caused the situation we’re in. It’s also much easier to blame others for the things they’ve done or for their imperfections, rather than taking responsibility for the heart separation ourselves.

Holy Spirit-led, heartfelt repentance to those, who have separated themselves from you in their hearts, can go a long way toward healing. Honest repentance for your mistakes and completely forgiving others for their mistakes is God’s way of making relationships whole. Your release of any undoneness and all offenses, which have caused the situation you are in, brings a whole new dynamic into play.

In essence, our relationship with Jesus began and remains whole with saying “I’m sorry,” whenever we offend Him. We need His mercy each time we come to Him. Our job is to extend that same mercy to those who have offended us – real or perceived, especially family members. Your expression of sorrow for the times you may have offended others gives them the freedom to heal from your offenses. It opens the doors of communication and allows weapons of self- defense or survival instinct to be laid down. “I’m sorry” - two little words that could change the direction of your family when said for the good of others. Will you say them?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/29/23 It Takes Time

“You may have “this” because you are mature enough to handle it. I will do “that” for you, when you are ready for the responsibilities that come with it. I will do something else for you, when I see that you will use it wisely; however, there are some things I will not do because they would not be good for you at this time. I would not be able to hold your attention while you are being trained. Your requests to Me sometimes take time.

"Rest in Me while I teach you to be trustworthy. While I am removing obstacles, moving blockades, and changing you, become steadfast in My lessons. Become focused on what I am doing in you. When you are ready, I will move on your behalf. When you have My heart, I can trust you to properly value what you are given.”

Psalm 37:4 NIV

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Jas. 4:2-3 AMP

2) …You do not have, because you do not ask.

3) [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives…

I John 3:22 AMP And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.

In prayer, there is a connection between what God does and what you are to do. Prayer (communication with God) is the vehicle that Father God has established for us to navigate from the physical realm to the spiritual realm and back again to accomplish His will from heaven to earth in us and through us.

Through this communication and because of the work of Jesus, God brings Himself, His plans, and His very being into His established tabernacles – us. Within the communication, we present our requests for all that is necessary for us to become who we need to be. Our Father also communicates His will to us. It is true communication between the Creator and His creation, with Father God all the while fine tuning our encounters with Him through the Holy Spirit.

Our communication with God is a privilege. It is also one of God’s opportunities to change us while we are waiting for answers.

Make me what You need me to be, Lord,

Jim Corbett

11/29/23 Never Minimize Others

Do you know that your wife and your children have a right to trust you to keep quiet about their failings? Do you know that no one outside of your marriage or your family has a right to know about the areas the Lord is working on in either one of them? As a spiritual covering, your job is to create an atmosphere of love and trust in your marriage and family, so that everyone can be free to fail and grow without the eyes of others scrutinizing their every move or judging them “in Christian love.”

Often the body of Christ goes around expressing “prayer needs” concerning members of their family, exposing their sins for the whole church to discover. Is it any wonder that the struggling child or the unsaved wife has no desire to enter into that atmosphere? Whether you know it or not, whether you intend to or not, you are minimizing their worth in the eyes of others.

While the Lord is working out the refinements necessary to help all members of your family to become Christ-like, you are called upon to give them love and the freedom to fail within the privacy of your family. You’re to build a safety zone for them. In your conversations with them and with others, you’re to maximize opportunities to affirm their worth, pray for them, and never minimize them - especially to others. Give the Lord the freedom to heal them. Make sure that others understand the qualities they have and the wealth they’ve been given by God, no matter what state of growth they may be in. They are valuable in His eyes; your job is to fully understand that value and express it to others when you refer to them. Will you do that?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/27/23 True Humility

“I am continually observing the relationships that you share with others who are called by My Name. I guard your interactions with a steadfast love because I love each of you, even when you sometimes hate each other. Do you know that an indication of how much you love Me is how much you love each other? Do you know that I care more about your attitude in every relationship that I bring your way far more than how much you strive to do for Me? Anything that you claim to do in My Name means nothing to Me if you don’t love others more than you love yourself.

"Jesus put aside everything, even His own opinion, to show you how to get along with others and serve in true humility. Doing only what I asked Him to do, saying only what I wanted Him to say, He showed His love for Me and His humble heart, which I want you to emulate. When you count others as more important than yourself, you show those who give lip service to humility who they really are. I call them fools.

"Strive to lower yourselves in your own opinion, and I will lift you up before the world. Strive for true humility. Show it by taking time to listen to the heart of even the smallest child. Make others’ cares and concerns worth your time, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ. I devote all that I am to others; so does Jesus. Shouldn’t you, if you claim to obey My Word?”

Phil. 2:1-5 NIV

1) If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

2) then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

3) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.

James 4:10 AMP

Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

I don’t know about you, but most people don’t have a clue about getting along with me. Few people understand that I’m always right, so I have no time for their opinion. Most don’t know that the way of being my friend is to always strive to meet my needs. Fewer understand that making me happy is their portion in life; and for the life of me, I don’t understand why I have no friends, when being my friend would give everyone the opportunity to always hear my opinion only, serve someone worthy of service, and understand someone with true wisdom.

Have I made you sick yet? I sure hope you understand that the above paragraph depicts a person that the Bible calls a fool, and I pray that I am not one. If I really thought that way, I would be a fool’s fool.

Proverbs 18:2 is one of the Father’s many definitions of a true fool. It states in the Amplified Bible: A [self-confident] fool has no delight in understanding but only in revealing his personal opinions and himself.

Not caring for the opinions of others shows a heart attitude of complete selfishness and usually follows with an attitude of knowing everything and serving no one. This type of person, who believes that he has all the answers, is an indication of a hardened heart towards God; and he is usually unteachable, untrustworthy, and unwilling to learn anything from anyone - even from God. He is totally self-absorbed and a friend to no one but himself.

Throughout the Word of God, true godly friendships and Christ-like character are manifested in how much we value others above ourselves, especially those who can give us nothing in return. The Christ-like characteristics of gentleness, kindness, tolerance, understanding, and compassion for others are exhibited in the heart that is in line with God’s heart.

Anyone calling himself a follower of Christ endeavors to allow God to develop these characteristics in him, so that Jesus can be seen in him wherever he goes, knowing that acting with love gives hope to the hopeless. His ardent desire is to eventually care for others only, putting himself completely aside, just like the Lord that he serves has done. To the loss of reputation, honor, finances, and material worth if necessary, he relentlessly moves in a direction to acquire the heart that cares only for the other’s best interest in any relationship. Anything less would dishonor his Lord. Anything else he might do for Him would be hollow service.

Wanting to learn how to lay my best interests down just as my Lord did,

Jim Corbett

11/27/23 Affirming Your Children

Do your children know of their intrinsic value? I’m not talking about telling them how well they’re performing. I’m talking about how valuable they are to God and to you. If you are a father who is performance-oriented and you place your expectations on your children, they may grow up to be successful because of the striving attitude you’ve taught them; but they’ll never be able to rest in the worth they have simply because they’re breathing.

God has called everyone into being. His desire was for all of your children to be born, and He calls them good. As a father, you are to carry on His attitude toward them. You’re commanded to build in them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a knowledge of His love and acceptance of them. You’re to show them they are accepted just as they are and not for what they do. It begins with teaching them how much you appreciate them as His representatives.

If you are not in the habit of affirming your children and have set a course where they need your approval to maintain their worth, they’re on the road to a life of needing that approval even after you’re gone. If they don’t have it, they will need to find it from some other source. Many lives are spent seeking approval of some kind because you, as a father, haven’t established God’s kind of approval in them through your words and actions toward them.

Begin now! Seek the Lord as to how you can be used to change the course of the direction of the lives of your children. Ask Him to show you the wounds you may have already caused and how He wants to use you to heal them. Commit to creating an atmosphere of affirming their worth with your words and actions, so they are free to be who they are. Give them the freedom to fail without your disapproval. Give them the freedom to live their lives, not yours. Show them Jesus through your attitude toward them. You will be amazed at how beautiful they really are.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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