Tag: Devotional

“If I gave you the same mercy that you give others, how would you fare? For that matter, if I, as your Father, devoted Myself to you with the same kind of devotion you have for Me and those around you, what would your life be like? If I were as committed to you as you are to Me, would you be able to trust Me? Would you have any reason to give Me your heart’s treasures so that I could represent them to others properly? Would you trust Me with your son’s reputation?

"You know where I’m going with this. You ask Me to be faithful and I always am, I always will be; but you rarely hold your own life to the same standards. You expect forgiveness, all the while holding others to their offenses. You judge those around you but expect only mercy for yourself. Isn’t it time to drop all hypocrisy and turn your heart toward Me? Let’s work toward truth. Let’s clean out all those dirty little corners. I want you to be holy as I am holy. Let’s go for it!”

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Matthew 5:7 NIV

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

 

Oh, boy, in your face truth! Most of us don’t really like to have our own lives placed as a standard for how others should deal with us. How much more difficult would it be to face the perspective of God dealing with us in the same way we deal with Him or those He expects us to love?

In many cases, the old saying, “We judge others by their actions; we judge ourselves by our intentions,” is quite accurate. The problem we face is that that kind of thinking is light years away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ—a Gospel that we say we believe, enforce, and adapt for our lives on a daily basis. What then, does that really make us?

Create in me a clean heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do not be too anxious to give to others those things that I share with you. Sometimes the most wonderful revelation of My Word is actually only a seed that I desire to plant in your spirit. I choose to plant it in the rich soil of your spirit to be nurtured for a season until it becomes a fruit-producing tree. If you give it away too soon because of your excitement, you will be giving only part of what I really wanted to share with you. That is immature fruit that gives little nourishment.  When I show you something when We are together, hold it close until I tell you that it is ready to be shared. At that time, the fullness of My presence accompanies it to its destination in the hearts of those who receive it. It will bring forth life.”

Psalm 111:2 NIV

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Mark 4:24 AMP

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you – and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

Luke 6:45 AMP 

The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good),…

Ps. 1:2-3 AMP 

2) …he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

3) And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

 

Have you ever bounded from your time with God to share an incredible insight that you have just received, only to get a blank expression from the one to whom you were trying to explain it? Do the words, “You had to be there,” sound only too familiar? Have you ever attempted to do a teaching on what you have been shown and watched your words drop to the floor directly in front of your feet? Consider this.

Before you share with others something that the Lord is teaching you, allow it to develop fully in your spirit. Give it away only after you have spent many moments, hours, days, months, or even years with the Lord as He matures the lesson in your spirit, and you have been given the freedom to do so. You will be amazed at the result of fully grown fruit versus half-ripened fruit. Allow the Word of God to mature your gifts before you give them to others.

Teach me to own something before I give it away, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“How much of what you do has eternal consequence? Compare that with the carnal effects of your actions. My time frame for life as you know it is coming to a close. I am about to put into effect plans that will modify most of the handles that people use to bolster their lives. Things will soon change and few will know how to react.

"You need to consider your lives available for My use alone. I need to train you for the coming times. I need all of your heart, so that you have answers when others don’t. Surrender fully to Me. Make Me your priority for living. I will show you the heart of Jesus. I will show you how to prosper when the world reels in confusion.”

Psalm 25:12-14 NIV

12) Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13) He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14) The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

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?

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

It is so easy to forget why we are on this earth. The distractions of the world and everyday living take our eyes from our real purpose for having breath in our body.

Here is what I believe the Word says about our lifespan in very simple terms. I believe that each of us is born to make a choice as to who we will serve for eternity. Either we choose Jesus or we remain separated from Him forever.

After we choose Jesus, we are to develop in the intimacy that our Father God has provided for us. That intimacy will produce the character of Christ in us. We are to then present the life of Jesus - which has been developed within us - to others, so that they have the opportunity to make the same choice we did. Everything we do, as we function from day to day, either furthers that goal or hinders it.

Help me show them You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“Fellowship with Me should be your priority in life. It is where all your other comings and goings should originate. When they originate from circumstances, traditions, and emotions, you will find yourselves seeking Me for help to deliver you from wrong and harmful situations. You will need to seek Me then, so why do you not choose to seek Me first and avoid unwanted difficulties?

"There is great purpose in My desire to have you spend time with Me. Most of it has become obvious to you over the years, but some of it is only evident as I reveal it to you. The obvious is My desire to simply be with you.  You have been created, and then redeemed, so that can happen. It is the reason that Jesus gave His life. For you to not honor that act would be a travesty.

"Not so obvious - or at least not quite as evident - is the fact that by being with Me, I take you out of harm’s way. Our fellowship allows you to avoid not only the pitfalls that will not occur while We are together, but also those that you will avoid because of the wisdom I impart to you. You benefit from Our fellowship more than you know. You can’t see what didn’t happen—those instances that didn’t occur because We avoided them together. That may seem simplistic, but it is eternal wisdom.

"Before We came together because of Jesus, what was your life like? How did you fare? What controlled you, and where did it take you? You eventually saw the need to turn to Me, didn’t you? Now that you have the ability to let Me direct your steps, wouldn’t it be wise to make Our times together your priority? I would think so. I have planned it that way.”

Haggai 1:3-10 AMP 

3) Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

4) Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house [of the Lord] lies in ruins?

5) Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways and set your mind on what has come to you.

6) You have sown much, but you have reaped little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages has earned them to put them in a bag with holes in it.

7) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways (your previous and present conduct) and how you have fared.

8) Go up to the hill country and bring lumber and rebuild [My] house, and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, says the Lord [by accepting it as done for My glory and by displaying My glory in it].

9) You looked for much [harvest], and behold, it came to little; and even when you brought that home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of My house, which lies waste while you yourselves run each man to his own house [eager to build and adorn it].

10) Therefore the heavens above you [for your sake] withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its produce.

 

I have often observed the youth who have met the Lord and follow Him closely and compared them to those who are in the world. There is a difference between darkness and light.

Those, who do not have the privilege of knowing the Lord, follow their flesh from folly to folly, as a bull being led to slaughter. There is no hope to reach them other than by the power of the Holy Spirit because of the immense clutter that life piles upon them day after day. Real direction and purpose elude them. Any counsel is sought through worldly sources and help is temporal at best.

On the other hand, people, who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives, have access to God’s wisdom, and it is incredibly evident. The path of their lives is much straighter. Their purpose is continually unfolding before them, and the normal destructive pitfalls of life are often avoided. They visibly exude the character of Jesus and the strength of the wisdom of God. Surrounded by those with valuable resources because of their relationship with Jesus, there is hope for proper guidance throughout their lives.

Not only do we have the supreme honor of our Lord’s presence, each of us has an open door to the Creator of the universe for encouragement, wisdom, and guidance for our daily lives— and then for eternal freedom. How foolish of us if we do not take every advantage of the incredible gift we have been given!

Needing to understand fully the gift I’ve been given,

Jim Corbett

“Stand now! Be still and know that I am God. Be still for a few moments more and allow Me to work the perfect work in you. I know that much seems out of order while you wait for Me to answer your requests; but from My perspective, nothing is as it seems to you. In a heartbeat, what I have accomplished in the heavenlies will be implemented in your midst.

"Most important, however, is what is being accomplished in you while you wait for Me. My concerns are not so much for your needs. My deepest concern is your need of Me that is being formed in you while you wait. Work with Me. Work to help others while they wait on Me. Focus your trust on Me. I will never fail you. You are Mine and I love you.”

Exodus 17:12 AMP

But Moses’ hands were heavy and grew weary. So [the other men] took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Exodus 33:13-16 NIV 

13) “If I have found favor in your eyes, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14) The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

15) Then Moses said to him, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

16) How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Psalm 46:1 AMP

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

Psalm 46:10 NIV

“Be still and know that I am God…”

Psalm 51:10 AMP 

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

 

God is teaching any of His children who will listen to fully understand that He is our only source. He is bringing us to the end of our own resources, so that we finally submit to Him as our only source for everything. So we wait as Jesus waited to be resurrected. Just as there was no physical movement while Jesus waited, we must be still and fully understand that God is really our God, working a perfect work in all things.

I can’t, so You must, Lord,

Jim Corbett