Tag: Devotional

“If you only knew how little time there is left for you to become equipped to carry My Word to a dying land. Have you noticed how far the world has migrated from reality as I see it? Do you see how they have lost all reason? Children are killing children. Parents are abandoning their families to fulfill their own desires, leaving them to strangers without any remorse. A spirit of hatred and murder has permeated the minds of those who have lost all reason and now function as pawns of the enemy. Being driven by Satan, they can no longer even think for themselves. Animalistic lusts have become so prevalent, that wisdom is nowhere to be found. People have truly become lovers of only themselves. Your society has become so decadent that any presentation of My Word, or the work that Jesus did, are laughed at, scorned, and cast aside as dirty laundry.

"Still, My heart reaches out to them in mercy. I desire that everyone should be with Me for eternity. You must tell them. Shake off the spirit of the world that says they have gone too far and are out of reach of My grace. Put aside your own selfishness and care more for their salvation than your own comfort. Stop being so proud of your relationship with Me and become thankful once again for the cross. You need to remember where you were when I found you and gave you My gift of life. Where would you be if I had not had mercy on you? Give that same mercy to others before it is too late. I have called you; now share Jesus with those who laugh at you. They laughed at Him, but He still went to the cross. You do the same.”

John 20:20-21 NIV

20) After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21) Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 AMP

1) THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].

2) And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

II Tim. 3:1-2 AMP

1) BUT UNDERSTAND this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

2) For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

 

As necessary as it is for each of us to recognize the times and seasons in which we live, and lay our lives down to become all that we can be in Jesus, most of us are missing the heart of God. In our zeal to become like Jesus, somehow, we have lost His love for souls, when that was the very purpose for which He came. It is impossible to separate that desire from who He is!

When was the last time you wept over those who are lost? Conversely, how often have you cheered deep down in your heart when someone “got what was coming to them” after committing a horrible crime? Which of those do you think Jesus would do? He even cried out for forgiveness from the cross for those who had pounded the rusty nails in His hands and feet.

All that our Father in heaven does prepares us for two purposes. He prepares us as a waiting bride so that we are ready for marriage at the coming of Jesus and as servants of His will while we wait.  Most of the church is responding fully to neither. How that must hurt His heart!

Needing to submit to and act upon my Father’s desires,

Jim Corbett

“Are you ready for your assignment? Are your days spent seeking My heart so that you know My will for your life? Is your most important goal in life to receive from Me the character of Jesus, so that you can represent Him properly to your world? Do you care about what I care about? Why not?”

Eph. 3:7-9 NIV 

7) I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.

8) Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

9) and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

 

In the above Bible verses, Paul sounds like a man who has happily found his reason for breathing air. I am convinced that long before he could make the statement above, he had to enter into that place of absolute surrender to the Lord and His plans. Everything of the flesh had been burned from him. He had gained the heart of God through transparently meeting with God and lived only for the purposes that the Lord had for him. He was dead to himself and alive only to Jesus.

In my travels, I meet many people. Those who are truly happy are either on a zealous quest to find God’s specific design for their lives, or they have found it and are walking towards its fulfillment through Christ’s power. If you are seeking the Lord with all your heart, if your desire is to spend time with Him for His purposes to be fulfilled in your life, if your eyes are off of yourself and your needs and searching for the heart of the Lord, you are well on your way to saying with Paul, “This is my life work, …..”

I have claimed the above verses from Paul as my own. I have them in my journal and read them when I feel that I may have lost my direction. Every time I do read them, I am flooded with the Lord’s peace because I once again remember why I have been born; and that I have found the answer to my life. It took close to twenty years to be absolutely sure; but once I was sure, there was a very clear reason for getting up each morning that no weapon formed against me could steal from me.

God has a specific plan for you. You have been created for His purposes and are very valuable to Him. That is not a heavy burden, but a privilege. Everything you are going through is heading toward His fulfillment in you, if you are seeking His heart. He is forming you to be able to live the life of Jesus accurately in your world.

Thank You for a purpose for living, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Would you give up hearing the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ for relief from whatever you’re going through right now? Is the removal of some of the pressure that is now part of your life worth the price of not blessing Jesus? Will you trade all the work that is intended to be done in you just to have some ease and comfort? I know it isn’t so! So many have given up when the times got too tough. So many took the easy road of moving in their own strength when it looked as if they had to find a way to survive.

"I know that you can see past that immature behavior. I know that you will press on to the high calling that is intended for you. Please don’t cave in under the light pressure to which you are now called. Place your eyes on Jesus. He is your strength. He is your wisdom. He is your guide to the crucified/resurrected life. He did not fail when the cost was everything. His power is now available to you so that you will make it. Press in to Him. He will never fail you.”

Genesis 25:29-33 NIV

29) Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.

30) He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”…

31) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32) “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33) But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Philippians 3:12-14 NIV 

12) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

13) Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

14) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

As trailblazers to the high calling that is once again being heralded by our Father, the only precedent that is available to us is the Word and the lives of those who have gone before us, especially Jesus Christ. Whenever the Lord begins to straighten the path that His church is on, those who respond to the call back to the pursuit of holiness and the high calling of Jesus Christ are considered to be running contrary to the established norm by those traveling the well-worn road. Looking to those who will not deviate from the norm of self-comforting, socially acceptable, practical Christianity will accomplish nothing but confusion and heartache.

Most of you know that the Lord is raising up a standard against the flood of complacency in His church. The standard is Jesus Himself. Looking to Him is the only pattern to follow. Observing the lives of those who walked with Him and understanding that they had the same dilemma in the world in which they lived, can give comfort when times get especially rough. The price paid to overcome the ways of their world - using God’s ways and not their own - was everything they had and all that they owned.

God is not able to fully use those who fold under pressure from the people around them who will not move where He wants them to go. He is calling out those who know His heart, and are determined to follow it, no matter what the cost.

Needing Your strength to make it, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“In My economy, you are most prosperous when you own nothing with your heart and crave nothing but Me to fulfill your every desire. It is then that you are an empty vessel fit for My use. I can pour Myself into you and know that you will fill others with proper nourishment. It is a simple system. I fill you, then you empty yourself to others and come back to Me to fill you again. That is My kind of fun!”

2 Cor. 4:7 AMP 

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.

2 Chr. 16:9 NIV

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...”

1 Cor. 4:2 AMP

Moreover, it is [essentially] required of stewards that a man should be found faithful [proving himself worthy of trust].

2 Cor. 5:20a NIV 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

2 Cor. 12:15 AMP 

But I will most gladly spend [myself] and be utterly spent for your souls...

 

Have you ever thought of pouring yourself out for others as fun? How about owning nothing but the love of Jesus as your wealth? We just don’t get it, do we?

We observe three separate heart positions functioning in the church body today, all called “Christianity.” There is the infant heart, the growing heart, and the mature heart - one that symbolizes the bridal heart, or more simply, the kind of heart that Jesus has. You will need to know and understand these three distinctive heart positions, so that you can function properly with the Lord’s help as you encounter them – either in yourself or others.

The Infant Heart

The infant heart beats only for itself. All of the things that God does center around their needs in some way. The salvation process was for them alone. It was put in effect by God specifically for them, to make them safe after they die.

The Bible is simply a book of promises that they can call upon to relieve their hurts in time of need. God is perceived as this wonderful benefactor, who is waiting for their next need to occur, so that He can help them through it; and prayer is solely a channel by which they can make their needs known.

In essence, everything that God has done, is doing, and will do hinges upon the perception that mankind is at the center of it all; and they have somehow tapped into this incredible opportunity. So, God is all about them and for them alone. There is no need to go any further; it is enough, and it is very good.

You are so patient with us, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Please don’t forget that everything that happens to you is part of the training to equip you for greater things. Remember how far you’ve come. Remember from where you came. Look how different you are now than when you first came to Jesus. There was a time when you couldn’t or wouldn’t embrace proper things. There was a time when you had no hope. Now you are part of My family. You belong. You are completely accepted. If you focus on the difficulties of your training, you will miss the wonders of what has and is being accomplished. Turn your eyes toward Jesus. Remember!”

Rom. 8:28 NIV 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2 Cor. 3:18 AMP  

And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

Heb. 12:2-3 NIV

2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

So often we get so caught up in the circumstances that surround us that we forget the wonders of those things that have accompanied us along the way of our lives. Remember first love? Remember the first time you discovered that Jesus was real? Remember the astounding relief of forgiveness? Remember the wonder of belonging, really belonging to your new loving Father? Remember how mundane the world was and the useless days that were spent pursuing nothing important?

Teach me to never forget, Lord,

Jim Corbett