Tag: Devotional

“I am your Buckler and Defender. I am your Strong Tower and your Hiding Place. I am your Safety in time of need and your Warrior in times of peril. I am your Counsel. I am your Advocate. I am always for you. I am your Friend. I am your Provider. I am your Wealth in your world. I am your Hope for your future. I call you Mine forever. I am much more than anything else in your life, for I Am your life. There is no one like Me.”

II Chron. 20:17a AMP

You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you…

I Psalm 62:5-6 AMP

5) My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.

6) He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved.

Proverbs 18:10 NIV

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Isa. 46:9-10 AMP

9) [Earnestly] remember the former things, [which I did] of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me.

10) Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose.

 

Because we are His, He is ours. The truth and wonder that there is a God, and that He is mindful of us, is astounding. That belief and trust in God appears foolish to the skeptic, and yet, only a fool says in his heart that there is no God. The longer we study the wonders of Who He really is, the more wonderful He becomes. We are truly blessed.

Remind me over and over again, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You say that you are a follower of Jesus. Oh, really! When was the last time that you considered My will more important than yours? When did you care more about someone else than yourself? Do you really care that others are separated from Me for eternity? Do you care enough for them to give your life for them? Would you spend the rest of your life so that they can embrace Jesus? Would you give up everything you owned for them? Whom did you say that you followed?”

I John 2:6 AMP

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

 

The label of Christian was once given to those who saw Who Jesus was and patterned everything they did after Him. They spent all of their lives studying His way of living and then lived the same way. They took on His heart burdens, His love for the Father, His complete purpose for living. To do less was unthinkable, if they said that they followed Him, for their lives depended on it.

Sometimes following Him meant certain death. It was no small thing to say that you followed Jesus. How close does your life resemble the life of Jesus?

Make me like You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that you are ministering to Me in many ways? You are! I especially love it when you honor and praise Jesus. It thrills Me when you give honor to His Name and the work that He did and still does. I am delighted when you are sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit and respond to His comfort. Continue to hunger and thirst after My Word. It is life and nourishment to you. As you grow and become more involved with My heart, bless others. As you minister to those who need My love and what has been done by Jesus, you bless Me. I love the way you are growing in Me. Keep up the good work! I love you!”

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...”

Psalm 20:6-7 AMP

6) Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

7) Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.

Amos 3:3 KJV

“Can two walk together except they be agreed?”

 

“Nobody ain’t never loved me,” Train whimpered as memories of rejection and abandonment started to visibly wrack his gigantic frame.  “Nobody ain’t never loved me like that.”

After several minutes, Train stood erect again, sobbing and wiping his tear-streaked face with his calloused, massive hand.  He turned toward Tom.

“I gotta do somethin’ to thank Him for what He done.  Can you tell Him for me, Preacher Man?  Can you tell Him thanks for what He done?”

Tom looked up at the most broken man he had ever seen.  Without hesitation, Tom put his hand on Train’s arm - something unthinkable just a short time ago.

“I think Jesus would like it very much if you’d tell Him yourself, Train.  I think He would be very pleased to have you talk to Him.”

Shocked at the thought that God might listen to something he might say, Train stepped back a couple of steps in disbelief.  Then he looked directly into Tom’s eyes.  Tom looked directly back into his, assuring him that it would be all right.

“Do I gotta go to a church or somethin’?” Train questioned.

“No,” Tom smiled.  “We could just sit here on the curb and you could just tell God what’s on your heart.”

Tom started to move toward the curb to sit down when he noticed that Train had dropped into a kneeling position right where he’d been standing.  Tom moved next to him, giving a quick look to see if anyone was watching.  Train knelt silently for a long moment, his head bowed and his hands folded in front of him, resting loosely against his body.  Quietly he began.

“God...”  he hesitated to wipe the tears from his eyes.  “God, this is me, Train.  I ain’t never talked to you before ‘cuz I been afraid...”

I’m so grateful that You made a way for me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that you are building up a case against yourself when there is evidence of Christ’s love in your life? The world hates Who He is. When they see Him in you, they will hate you. Soon those who love Him will pay a price for that love. It may require all that you have. It may require your life. If there is any evidence that Jesus is in your life, you will be the enemy of those who hate Him. Are you ready for that kind of sacrifice? Are you ready to show them Who He really is by loving them with His kind of love when they have only murder in their hearts for you? Now is the time to prepare for those times. They are coming soon!”

Psalm 3:1-6 AMP

1) Lord, How they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

2) Many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

3) But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4) With my voice I cry to the Lord and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

5) I lay down and slept, I awakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

Psalm 46:1 AMP

God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Matt. 5:11-12 NIV

11) “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

 

Most of us go to God for the “desperate” needs in our lives, like paying bills or that person at work that is not being nice to us. We forget about the saints who live under dire circumstances, such as prisons or persecutions, all over the world. We choose to forget that this life in Christ is distasteful to those who love evil.

As this season comes to an end, it would be good to understand that we are in a time of training for evil times ahead. To claim that we are immune to peril because we love Jesus is foolishness. Any reasonable, thinking human being can see that darkness is becoming more prevalent and great darkness is soon to come. Now is the time for spiritual preparation. It will be very important to know our God intimately and to gain the heart of Jesus for when great evil invades our lives.

Prepare my heart now, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You must become devoted to Me and My Word. In fact, I want your whole life to be considered a devoted thing, something having no life of its own, but existing only through and for Jesus. Build up a resistance to criticism as you sell out. Harden your heart to the sirens of the world. Soften it to every beat of His heart. Walk only where you are invited to walk with Me. Avoid anything that resembles the world.

“As you distance yourself from those things that desire to sway you away from a devoted life, you will find the true peace and happiness that comes from an honest, upright relationship with Me. You will experience unparalleled joy that is not contingent upon your circumstances and situations. You will have overcome the world and its ways. You will finally have peace, the kind of peace that I have always intended for you to have.”

Gal. 2:20a NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Gal. 5:24 AMP

And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

Gal. 6:14 NIV

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Phil 3:10-11 AMP

10) [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11) That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

 

Paul’s devotion to the Gospel is heartwarming. As you study the verses in Philippians 3 above, try to see through the words and into the heart of this devoted man of God. There was no compromise for him. He was completely sold out to the desire of knowing his Master and Savior.  He wanted to know his Lord intimately. He wanted to understand exactly what had occurred at the cross and the resurrection.  He wanted to benefit from the power of the risen Christ, not for his own good; but for the sake of being changed into the image of his Lord. He wanted it all for the sake of the Gospel.

This relationship with Jesus is much more than going to church, giving to missions, praying, and talking about the things of God. It is a road trip to the complete death of our flesh. It is also an incredible journey to knowing our Lord and Savior intimately, if we choose to sell out completely to Him.

I believe that most of the church functions on the perimeter of the kind of relationship that Father God intends for us. Most of us do only as much as it takes to know that we are “safe” and on our way to heaven, when there is so much more available if we would only sell out completely. The thought of compromise never entered into Paul’s heart and mind when it came to His relationship with Jesus.  It shouldn’t enter into ours either.

Remove compromise from my life, Lord,

 Jim Corbett