Tag: Devotional

“Do you know that I desire to be with you every moment of every day? I choose to walk with you, attending to your every decision, challenge, and success. I desire to be intimately involved with the minutest incidents of your life so that you will prosper. When you fully understand that Our relationship is not part-time for Me, you will begin to understand the intimacy that I desire with you. You will also understand your heritage. What could possibly harm you, confuse you, or bring fear to you if you have accepted the fact that I choose to be with you in your every encounter throughout your life? You have a choice to make.

"Allow My Word to show you that My presence is with you as long as you are moving in My will and My direction. Allow My Word to also show you the alternative existence if you choose to go your own way, even for a short time, very much like you have been doing most of the time. It’s time to make wise choices.”

Psalm 106:12-15 AMP

12) Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise.

13) But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them.

14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

15) And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls…

Psalm 127:1 AMP 

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

Heb.13:6 AMP 

So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?

 

When I ponder Psalm 106 above, I get a picture of most of us following after God. It talks about a people who praise God, believe His words, and rely on Him; but they do not wait for His plans regarding them to develop. Basically, they go about their own plans and pray that God will honor what they do.

The verse that really strikes caution in my heart is verse 15: “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls…”  I wonder how many of us have leanness in our souls because of our insistence in getting our own requests fulfilled instead of desiring God’s prosperity. (I don’t mean money.)

The impression I get when I think of someone who always wants his own way, continually seeking God selfishly, is a person who is unaware of anything but his own needs - clueless about what is really important and void of anything that resembles the life and character of Jesus. What an incredible price to pay for not honoring God but going our own way - shaking off His desire for intimacy with us and settling for some pottage!

Help me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Have you really studied Jesus? Have you observed His life, His character, and His heart so closely, that you know Him? Have you positioned yourself to allow My Holy Spirit to reveal everything about Him? If not, what is your reason for living? Jesus is the embodiment of everything that I hold dear. He is My Word and My Words!  He is the breath of all things created! He is the only life worth living. He is now living through you if you have given yourself to His Lordship. Can you think of one good reason why He should not be your priority over everything? I can’t!”

Genesis 1:26 NIV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”

John 1:10 NIV

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

Heb.1:3 AMP 

He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.  When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high…

 

So often we become so spiritual that we forget why we do what we do, say what we say, and live what we live. In all of reality, there is one truth that is pivotal to everything. His Name is Jesus. He is Lord. He is God.

Praise You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“I have told you that I will be putting holy alliances together. These are relationships that you will be able to trust completely. They are designed to accomplish My will in the times ahead. They will be My kind of alliances, held together by My power, not the power of the flesh. These covenant relationships will be the example of what My church should be. They will not fall apart because of the intrusions that the world and the church place on them. Tried in the fire of affliction and having stood the test of the enemy’s onslaught, I will be able to use the gifts and talents of one to complement the others and fulfill any task that is ordained for their particular association. What a joy it will be to see trustable friends working together to accomplish My will and represent My church as I desire My church to function one with another.

"Soon, I will also establish safe harbors throughout the land, similar to My “cities of refuge.” They will be places where My presence dwells to protect those who are implementing My plans. These will not necessarily be communities or large areas. They might be a single home, building, or piece of land. People that I trust will be able to function there when there is little else being accomplished in the land. Supernatural forces will oversee these places to keep out intruders as long as I desire. They will not be for the faint of heart who desire to save themselves. Those who dwell in these havens will have given away their lives long ago, hold on to nothing but My Word, and desire to do only My will. When the land burns, these places will bring forth the refreshing water of My Word and the life of My Son to a parched land.”

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.

Acts 4:29-30 AMP 

29) And now, Lord, observe their threats and grant to Your bond servants [full freedom] to declare Your message fearlessly,

30) While You stretch out Your hand to cure and to perform signs and wonders through the authority and by the power of the name of Your holy Child and Servant Jesus.

 

There is a fascinating scenario that is continually played out by those who call themselves followers of Christ.  It depicts the contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of God.

In the wisdom of the world, riches and power are usually achieved through personal strength, hard work, and dedication to self preservation. God’s contrast to achieving true wealth and unlimited power is to give away all strength and submit totally to the power of the Lord. Preserving one’s self never enters the picture; in fact, He desires us to hold nothing as our own, not even our lives.

As the “rattling of swords” becomes louder and louder, the typical worldly reaction is to find a safe harbor for all of the possessions that hold one’s attention. The objective is always one of striving to hold on to as much wealth and safety as you can and emerge unscathed when it’s all over. The remarkable thing is that in the Lord, that very attitude is the most dangerous place one could be. It is so foreign to the character of Jesus, that God cannot honor it and remain true to His Word.

In contrast, at the first sign of peril - especially on a large scale - those who really love their Lord spring into action. They see such times as opportunities to carry the life and love of Jesus to people who would never entertain the possibility of serving Him when things are safe and sane. It is a time when all the training employed by God before perilous times arise becomes evident in unstoppable power.

Similar to the contrast described above is the different attitudes evident within the body of Christ. There are those who see God only as their provider, protector, and implementer of their desires. However, true believers understand the price paid for their salvation and live only to prepare for and implement the plans of their Lord. In the times ahead, one will seek his own safety and find none, while the other will seek God’s will and find safety in His promises.

Just needing the ability to hear and the power to walk in obedience,

Jim Corbett

“You need to remember that I am a God of sudden actions. All My Words will be fulfilled. All My warnings will come to pass. All the attempts to make you complacent about My plans will fall away and be proven to be the lies that they are. Everything will happen suddenly! You will have no time to prepare. You will have no time to scramble around to know My heart. You will need to find safety in Me, but I will have closed the doors to My ways for you. I have often asked you to repent of your independent ways. I have asked you to spend the time with Me to know My heart. I have cautioned you to prepare. You have gone about your business instead of learning of My business for you. Suddenly, everything is going to change and you will be unprepared. What will you do then? You still have time. Don’t wait for the suddenly.”

Isaiah 48:3 NIV

“I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.”

Isaiah 66:9 AMP

Shall I bring to the [moment of] birth and not cause to bring forth? says the Lord. Shall I Who causes to bring forth shut the womb? says your God.

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.”

Jeremiah 12:5 AMP

[But the Lord rebukes Jeremiah’s impatience, saying] If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? And if [you take flight] in a land of peace where you feel secure, then what will you do [when you tread the tangled maze of jungle haunted by lions] in the swelling and flooding of the Jordan?

Hosea 13:6 NIV

“When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”

 

Noah’s flood came suddenly after one hundred twenty years of preparation. The day that Israel was told to move from the desert came suddenly after forty years of waiting for the Lord’s promise to be fulfilled. The sandals of the Messiah stepped on the shores of the Jordan River suddenly, after four thousand years of promises.

Our Lord has invited us to draw close to Him for many years. He has shown us of the times and seasons in which we live. Over and over again He has asked us to prepare our hearts for Jesus as a bride would prepare for her wedding. Suddenly, when all things come to pass, the promised fulfillment of everything He has been saying will show us how foolish we have been.

Help me to understand and submit to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you have any idea what you are doing? I don’t mean, do you know how to do what you do? I mean, do you know why you do what you do? Let’s talk. I have a very specific plan for each life that is Mine. Each of My children has been born into My family to prosper in a specific calling. In My plan, each of you has a specific role to play so that My will is accomplished. All of your life’s experiences have happened, so that you flow freely while doing your part in My plan. When you function in that role, however, you not only fulfill My desires; but you also are completed and fulfilled yourself because you are doing what you have been created to do.

"Is it any wonder that most of My church flounders through their lives, moving and being moved by the dictates of wrong decisions and fleshly-motivated actions? Most of you have not sought Me enough to have even a clue as to what you have been created for. You now find yourselves unhappy and without joy, plodding through your days, handcuffed by and serving the gods that you have created. My desire for you is that you prosper. My desire is for you to show the world the joy of serving Me, so that they will have taste buds to do the same. Come to Me today and submit your will to My perfect will for you. You will be surprised at how wonderful your life becomes when We flow together.”

Prov. 19:20-21 AMP

20) Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.

21) Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.

Phil. 2:12b-13 AMP

12b) …work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

13) [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

Heb. 13:20-21 NIV

20) May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

21) equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

 I once knew a husband and wife who were called into the mission field. The call had been confirmed to them many, many times.

Over the years, while the call was being given to them, they acquired many “things” and submitted themselves to a lifestyle that demanded their full attention and daily service. After several years of not responding to the Lord, the call on their lives became quieter and quieter until they could no longer hear it. Having counseled with them often during the time of their struggle to respond to the Lord, the specific time when they said their final “no” on the Lord’s timeline was very evident. Their joy left. Their needs and wants now totally stifled the voice of the Lord.

Their lives became a sad myriad of religious activity without true joy and void of real meaning.  They had chosen their way, rather than the plan for which the Lord had created them.

 Praying to desire to hear and respond only to the plans of God,

Jim Corbett