Tag: Church

“When will you really begin to stop playing church games? When are you going to stop talking and start acting out what you have been called to do? Where is the corresponding outpouring to what you’ve been given? Do you realize that you are only eternal moments away from looking into the face of Jesus? What are you going to say when He asks for your portfolio? To those of you who are diligently seeking Me for direction in your lives, be patient; I am at work. I will soon show you who you are in Me and where I want you to spend My time. You are faithful, and I am pleased.

"To those of you who have been lulled to sleep, or settled into complacency, or stopped seeking Me with all your heart for your purpose in life - I am setting My chin against you for a moment, until you come to repentance. You are in danger, and I cannot allow you to remain in your sin. Get up. Get involved in My work with My kind of heart. Find out what I am doing in your midst and pour your life and everything you have into it. I will require an accounting of your moments and resources soon. Time is short. If you don’t understand My heart, why I am calling you to account; and then respond with sincerity, I will move on. Someone else will take your place and accomplish your task. You will miss what I have for you.”

Esther 4:1 AMP

Now when Mordecai learned all that was done, [he] rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes and went out into the midst of the city and cried with a loud and bitter cry.

Esther 4:4 AMP

When Esther’s maids and her attendants came and told it to her, the queen was exceedingly grieved and distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, with orders to take his sackcloth from off him, but he would not receive them.

Esther 4:13-14 AMP

13) Then Mordecai told them to return this answer to Esther. Do not flatter yourself that you shall escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.

14) For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?

 

The above selected verses paint a brilliant picture of positioned people who have choices to make. In the simplest form, it goes like this. Mordecai was sincerely crying out to the Lord, asking Him to overcome what had been put in place against His people. Esther was in a position of influence and vast resources, enough to have a real impact on the challenge and the fate of her people; but she feared to get involved because she was primarily focused on herself and her own well being. Mordecai showed her that she was the one ordained for the task at hand; but if she didn’t respond commensurate with her calling and the various resources she had been given, someone else would be used and she would be set aside.

Let me not step aside, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Your world is in constant turmoil and always changing. Small people with evil eyes and loud mouths demand your attention. Their incessant hatred will challenge you to become more like Jesus, so that you can bring hope to those who need to hear truth. People are running out of answers. Give them the answer. His Name is Jesus. You are His representative. Get your eyes off of yourself and your needs.

"I will take care of you. Find out what purpose I have for your life and then function in your calling. You are needed now! Help others to see Jesus before it is too late for them. I am counting on you!”

 1 Cor. 6:19b-20 NIV

19b) …You are not your own;

20) you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

2 Cor. 1:3-4 AMP

3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),

4) Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.

2:Cor. 10:3-5 NIV

3) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4) The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

5) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 

Many people in the body of Christ have forgotten why they have been given breath to breathe. It is to proclaim Jesus to a world that has no answers by living His life before them and for their eternal good. Any other focus eventually leads to a dead end road, leaving believers with the same fears that the world has.

Jesus brings life. The life lived for Him brings life to others and has unlimited resources to overcome any challenge, anywhere, anytime. No power on earth can dilute its God-ordained power to rise above anything the world and its ways attempts to throw at it. Life in Jesus sees through fear and on to promise. Loud voices and violent eyes only drive the one in Christ to the safety of His presence. Fearful times bring the remembrance that the Word of God is being fulfilled in our midst. God’s ways are high above any ways of the world.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Where are My representatives? Where are the sold-out members of My family who care about the souls of others before their own interests? To those of you who have given your lives completely to Me and are in My service with your whole hearts, keep up the good work. I am with you. To those of you who still are not hearing, you need to listen with your spiritual ears. I remove your money to get your attention; and you work harder, taking even less time for Our relationship. I place you in situations that are impossible for you to solve; and you struggle until you are exhausted, instead of surrendering to Me. I bring relationships into your life that challenge you to show them Jesus and you run for cover the first time they offend you.

"What is it that you do not understand about your life in Christ? What do you not comprehend about a refiner’s fire? Please grow up so that those who need Jesus might see Him in you. Submit to My hand of training. Embrace the ways of Jesus. You are needed in these end times.”

 Gal. 2:20 AMP

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

James 1:2-4 NIV

2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

3) because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

4) Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

 

A friend and I were talking about a person whose life ended in tragedy. We discussed all the “if only’s” regarding the life mentioned. If only his mother had known the Lord. If only his wife had told him about Jesus. If only friends, teachers, or peers had been there, he probably would have turned out differently. His life could have been a benefit to others instead of an astounding tragedy. I wonder how many people we could influence if we would really get our eyes off ourselves and get serious about the Lord’s business?

I also think about the astounding number of people who have heard God’s “Good News” and have been changed. Those of us who know the truth fully understand that the difference between an eternally valuable life and one that ends in tragedy is Jesus. Knowing that truth, you would think that we would submit with all of our hearts to the desire of the Lord that none should perish. Help us, Lord!

Help me, Lord,

Jim Corbett