Tag: Devotional

“Do you really understand the covenant that My Son and I have made with you and for you? My covenant with you has little to do with keeping you healthy, wealthy, and out of harm’s way, as some false prophets claim. My Son did go to the cross. Paul did spend most of his ministry years in prison. Countless missionaries of Mine did perish. You are no different.

"Here is My covenant with you in a nutshell. I have promised to give you all of Myself while you live. I will equip you and fill you with My presence so that you testify of My Son. I have promised to change you, to finish what I have started in you. I have promised to be with you wherever you go, to help you through whatever situation you find yourself in, if you call on Me! You will see miracles when I need miracles to be shown to others. I will then bring you home to spend eternity with Me when your work is completed. You have promised to need Me and submit to Me as best you can.

"You must realize that this life with Me is to fulfill My will. Unless you set your mind to be in line with My heart and My Word, you will find yourself confused, and eventually heartbroken. Do I love you? Oh, yes, more than you will ever know! But I also love those who hate both Me and you at present. I desire that they also be with Us for eternity. You are My agent to show them My Son, so that they have a chance to embrace Him. If that means that they need to see how He reacts to difficult situations, I will lead you into difficult situations for their sake because I can trust you there.

"I have bought you with My Son’s blood. That is a high price to pay. I will show Him to the world in whatever way that I deem necessary, and I promise to use you to do it. There is much work to be done at present. When it is finished, I will bring you home and We will celebrate.”

John 14:10 AMP

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord; but the Father Who lives continually in Me does the (His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power).

John 14:12-13 AMP 

12) I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.

13) And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.

Rom. 11:36 AMP

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him.] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it).

I Cor. 6:19-20 NIV

19) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

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

Col. 2:6-7 AMP 

6) As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.

7) Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.

Col. 2:9-10 AMP 

9) For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].

10) And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit— and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].

 

It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad when I hear some well-known street-corner prophets proclaim a gospel of God serving us rather than one of us serving Him. I have seen so many young believers shipwrecked and discouraged because they came into the true Gospel under that teaching. When that teaching didn’t work - when they weren’t healed, when they couldn’t talk or pray or believe themselves out of a situation - there was no place to go. They felt God had left them.

I once asked the Lord to give me a key teaching that is always safe and in line with His Word. He said, “My true Gospel works everywhere, during any time in history, and in whatever situation you find yourself. It never changes.”

When I thought about it, those words made everything clear; and they’ve protected me numerous times. Prosperity doctrines will not work in impoverished nations or during God’s judgments. “Name it and claim it” doctrines did not work in the arena for the first century Christians, and so on. Any teaching that is limited to a generation, a locality, or a specific time in history has flaws in it, and will cause unnecessary rabbit trails. One by one, I have found that any doctrine preached must work everywhere in any season or it shows the Lord to be partial, when His Word tells us He is no respecter of persons.

The single teaching that seems to stand the test in every situation, every nation, and every generation is the crucified life. The teaching that we are not our own sets us free to be the Lord’s. When we understand that we have been bought with a price and are the Lord’s to use as He pleases, no real harm will ever come to us. We might be broken, shamed, and even killed; but when we have “died” already, who can harm a dead man?  Having “crucified” our old nature with its self-serving ways, we have the freedom to live with Him and for Him. Our lives can freely be a testimony of God’s love to others. Basking in the joy of His love for us, remembering what lies ahead, we live for the well-being of others and for our Lord. We are free!

Teach me to remember what this life with You is really all about,

Jim Corbett

“Prepare, prepare, prepare. Prepare for a time when things as you know them will no longer exist. Prepare for seasons when you will need to call upon Me and then make sure that it is Me that you hear, rather than the enemy of fear and confusion. Prepare for situations where people, ignorant of My ways, desperately need answers and are asking you for them. It is time to stop playing games. It is time for those who know Me, to now also know how to use what I have provided for them.

"From this date forward, be ready for anything that may come your way. Herald the call, talk to your friends, forgive your enemies. Make things right between you and anybody. Clean house and make sure all is in order. Children, prepare your hearts. Receive My love for you. Walk with purpose, for the time is near when I will need you to be a representation of My Son. Everything else will soon pass away.”

Psalm 24:7-10 NIV 

7) Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.

8) Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9) Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

10) Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty - he is the King of glory.

1 Timothy 1:16-17 NIV

16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Jesus Christ might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen.

 

Boy! I wish that I could always send sweet, lovely, fun kinds of messages. It seems that that is not always going to happen. For those of you who have been receiving these messages for a season, you know that we have seen the many sides of our Father during that time. The messages have had a range that has allowed all of us to “drink some milk” between the “meat” messages. That has been very freeing, and frankly quite wonderful - for me, at least.

At certain times, however, I have had to just sit quietly after writing and sending them to you. I have had to realize deep within my heart that, fact is, our Father is God with a “big G.” This is not a game. He is an absolute, unchangeable Creator and Lord, worthy of all our service. Also, He is our best friend, caring for us more than we could ever imagine. His love for us is beyond our deepest comprehension.

There was something worthy of note with this particular message. As I was praying, it seemed to me that, in the spiritual realm, a page was turning; and a new season was at hand. If before this day, Jesus, as our guide, had been taking us down a hallway toward a room, explaining all the way what we should do once we get there; now, we have just arrived at the room. What He had been explaining before was about to be needed, soon after we step through the doorway.

I’m not saying that peril is necessarily within hours or days, or even years, for with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day; but if you are archiving these messages, I believe that this one is worthy of note. Bookmark it in some way and by all means take to heart what has been said.

Sensing a new urgency,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that I am aggressively at work, changing your perception of others? That is one of My main focuses on your path to becoming like Jesus. When I get you to see other people as He did, you will be well on your way to being a useable tool to accomplish My will on the earth. Before you have His heart toward others, all of your actions are tainted by your faulty perceptions and opinions. They are worthless in accomplishing My will. Jesus saw everyone from My perspective from the beginning of creation. His coming to earth was not just “happenstance;” it was an outward expression of Our unity. Long before the sin in mankind was expressed outwardly, even for the very first time, all was prepared to accomplish the work on the cross. We saw your need!

"Have you ever thought of My Words to you and those actions toward you through the centuries - those written and those expressed in the life of Jesus - as the epitome of love? Everything that has been done was done for your benefit from a heart of love. I am bringing your heart to that same place of love. I need you to love others as I do. I want no one to perish, not even your most aggressive enemy. Set a gauge as to how close you are to being in accord with My heart. How much do you love others? I would venture to say that if you were really honest with yourself and with Me, you would find that you have little love toward those in My family, much less toward those who hate you.

"You mutter, judge, and set your face against anyone who does not see as you do. How does that compare to the words of forgiveness that Jesus said from the cross? It is where you must go. It is where I’m taking you, before you are completely usable in My work.”

Luke 23:33-34 NIV 

33) When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals -one on his right, the other on his left.

34) Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

More than likely the soldier who drove the nails in the hands and feet of Jesus still had the hammer in his hand. It’s possible that the men who vented their demonic aggression toward Him earlier with their whips, followed him to the place of the cross for the satanic thrill of final victory. Some scholars say that some in the jeering crowd, even some of those who only days before called Him the Son of God, spit at Him and gnashed their teeth against Him. In their grief, they hated Him for dying and disappointing their hopes. The religious leaders probably stood off to the side with smirks of prideful power, some possibly already plotting their next juicy bit of learned wisdom to give to their inquiring students.

For everyone there, and for everyone in the future who would laugh at His life, at all that He was, and at His gruesome death, Jesus asked His Father to forgive them. TO FORGIVE THEM! Of all the words that the Son of God could have said, of all the power He could have invoked against those who had murder, rebellion, ridicule, and every other base emotion toward Him in their hearts, He only spoke words of compassionate forgiveness and astounding love. His heart broke for those who killed Him. Even then, in the midst of unimaginable pain and horrifying death, He could only see their desperate need as they wallowed in their sin.

After many years of basking in that same kind of love toward me from my Lord, I probably still would want to call down legions of angels to get those ungrateful, pompous bigots if I had been Him; maybe even jump off that cross and shown everyone who’s really in charge. Why, I would…

Needing Your mercy and forgiveness more than ever, Lord. Please change my heart and how I perceive others, so that You can use me,

Jim Corbett

“Do you understand the heaviness you feel when you labor for others in prayer? Multiply that times every person who ever was or will be born, and you will begin to understand what Jesus went through at the cross. He carried your sin and the sins of all others. All the horrors of darkness were placed upon Him. To bring you to Me, I had to look away from Him, for darkness can have no association with light. Our grief won your freedom.”

Luke 9:23-25 AMP

23) And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].

24) For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].

25) For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?

2 Cor. 5:21 AMP

For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].

Galatians 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.”

Ephesians 3:10-12 AMP

10) [The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere.

11) This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in [the person of] Christ Jesus our Lord.

12) In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

 

The cross! The cross! The cross! The central theme throughout all of creation! Eternity past looked forward to it. Eternity future will look back upon it as pivotal. Angelic creations learn and marvel at its work. Mankind benefits beyond measure. It is why we can even see the need to come to God and have the right to do so.

The cross! Without it there is no hope. Because of it, life can go on as planned by God. It is a place of death that brought us life, an altar of sacrifice that won our freedom, a moment in history that all of history remembers.

The cross! It is where the Innocent was put to death for the guilty by the guilty, who claimed innocence. It is the only accepted ticket to the marriage supper and the key to preparation for it. We must never forget its worth, minimize its importance, or side with those who do. We must take up our cross because Jesus took up His.

Teach me and change me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you remember that I own every beat of your heart? What if I were to call you home today? Would you have fulfilled My desired plan for you? Would your life have been of consequence?

"You really have a choice. You can do many great and not so great things. You can look to others as if you had a deep relationship with Me because of your many activities. But I know. I know if We have spent enough time together for you to fully understand My will for your life. I know the difference between good activities and anointed steps guided by My heart. Come to Me now to learn of My purpose for giving you more beats of your heart. Come and allow Me to make your life of great consequence.”

Proverbs 16:9 AMP

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Proverbs 20:24 AMP

Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?

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?”

 

If you were to take all the imaginations of mankind, all the wealth, knowledge, and power of all the men and women that have ever lived and combine them, multiplied by one million to the millionth power, it would not compare to the wonder of one moment of God in His ordinary (for Him) daily activities and interactions with us. With all that our Father God is and has and has done, His heart has favor toward the opportunity He created for those He formed from the ground of the earth to be in association with Him.

This love association is an unparalleled drama that has overwhelmed the mind of the scholar, disgusted the heart of the bigot, softened the heart of the needy, and filled to overflowing the heart of the child.  In all the wonder that is our God, the most amazing aspect, which has baffled mankind throughout his time in existence, is the well-put phrase in the Book of Psalms, “Who is man that you are mindful of him?”

Thank You for caring about my life, Lord,

Jim Corbett