Tag: Devotional

“I want you to be free from the bondages the world would attempt to place on you. Draw close to Me and I will teach you how to love unashamedly. I will free you from the fear of loss. You can stop defending your reputation, for I will be your defender. In times of trouble, I will be your strong tower, your rear guard, your most capable warrior. You will never need to worry about the day’s hardships, for I will always provide for you. Others will prosper, for I will provide for them through your life. You will be blessed in your comings and goings, for you are Mine. You will be able to freely bless others, for I am with you. I love you. I love to set you free. I love to make you complete in Me through Jesus!”

 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 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 18:1-2 NIV 

1) I love you, O Lord my strength.

2) The Lord is my rock, my fortress and deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, He is my shield…

 

In this present time, there is an onslaught to destroy the faith of weak or ignorant Christians. The best way that the enemy can destroy who we are, or what has been done for us through Jesus and the corresponding wonder of our relationship with Him, is to diminish who God really is in our eyes. We must never forget that this is the very same God Moses could not look upon because of His glory.

The “smaller” our God and Lord can be made to appear to us, the weaker He will seem and our faith will become. The weaker He seems, the less we will be in awe of Him. That is hazardous to our walk with Him; and consequently, to our wonder of Him and trust in Him as God.

Fact is, there is only One God. He is El Shaddai. He is more powerful than any need, greater than any foe, and worthy of all honor and glory. His will brought everything into being by simply speaking it into existence. He is God and there is no other. He held our first breath and owns our last. It is right to serve Him and live only for Him.

Teach me to understand Who You really are, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I know that this is not what you normally hear, but I want you to count the cost of serving Me when you are in the dark valley, not from the mountain top. Mountain top commitments fade when times get difficult. When you have nothing to offer, when there is no escape, when you have come to the end of yourself and still commit to serve Me, I know you mean it. That is when I change you. That is when your heart becomes more like the heart of Jesus. Never be afraid to go to the place of needing Me. Each time I drive you to the end of yourself, it is My love in action. When I am all that you have and I am needed for your next breath, I will be there for you. You can trust Me. That is when We can really talk.”

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 wakened 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.

Isa. 38:17 NIV

Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.

 

Unless we really understand that everything God does is for our good, we will never be able to communicate with Him properly in times of anguish. Usually in those dark places, we begin to accuse God of being unfaithful and question His promises, instead of releasing our desperate need of Him and crying out for help.

We forget that He has taken us to those places, so that we finally come to the end of ourselves and He can get to our real need - more of Jesus. What we say and how we act toward Him in those desperate moments reveals our true heart. At that time, He either releases His compassion and changes us or allows us to remain there until our need of Him is more powerful than anything else.

We spend so much time trying to prove that we are getting better and becoming more Christ-like, when our Father is working to get us to acknowledge that we are bankrupt and in need of Jesus. When we do acknowledge our need, He can change us.

 Do what it takes to make me whole, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“In a moment your life can change forever. Without warning, you could find yourself in a situation in which you need Me desperately. Your world is being postured to fulfill what I have called into being long ago. It is heaving from within. The enemy has loosed lying and deceiving spirits upon those who are not aware of the truth in Jesus. You should have responded to My heart wooing long ago. One day it will be too late. You will not have enough oil to respond properly. Are you focused on My truth? Are you ready for whatever comes your way? You need to be! Much is changing fast.”

Isaiah 28:9-10 TLB

9) “Who does Isaiah think he is,” the people say, “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?

10) “He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time and in such simple words!”

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.”

II Peter 3:8-9 NIV

8) But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 

The “Leave It to Beaver days” have long since passed in case you haven’t noticed. Vile intrusions on our senses invade us at every moment. Intolerance is systematically replacing patience in our world. What would have been unthinkable even ten years ago has become almost commonplace today. Mankind is blindly responding to its father, the father of lies.

But Jesus! Because we are His, we can see the changes all around us with clarity and respond accordingly, if we are wise. This very moment God is doing what is necessary in each of those who are responding to His call to intimacy and bridal heart preparation. Our circumstances often must be seen with spiritual eyes. Our training may seem imperceptible, and our growth may appear non-existent; but none-the-less, we are in His hands and being formed to respond and overcome in our times as Jesus responded and overcame in His. Those who are listening and moving in God’s direction are being made ready for whatever is ahead.

Equip me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do everything that I tell you to do even if you have to do it afraid; I’ll meet you there. Go where I tell you; I’ll show you the way. Walk where there seems to be no path; My light will show you where to step. Speak what I tell you to say; I will back it up with My Word and My presence. I will guide you, direct you, and support you as you walk in obedience to My commands in your life. Do not ever doubt that. You have been in training. You have been taught to listen to Me rather than the world, or even the traditions that the church follows. I have trained you with My own hand. I have given you My perspectives on My Word that change the hearts of those who have ears to hear. I have shown you what is about to take place. You have a knowing that few others have.

"I have also kept you needing Me for your every move. In your need, you have learned to look to Me for everything. I now can trust you with much. I now can pour into you everything that is needed to accomplish My will for your life. Do not be limited by the small visions and insights of those who haven’t heard what I tell you in secret. You will no longer have to settle for the crumbs from the table of those who have filled themselves on My provision for you. I will release the needed provisions from those with clenched fists. In the coming days, you will see why I have taken you through the tests and trials you have faced. Soon I will silence the gossip. Soon I will show the loud voices whom they have been following. Soon I will remove every heavy hand from your life.

"Those who have touched you without My permission will be exposed for who they really are. They will stumble on the stones that they have thrown at you. They will be confused by the same lies that they have said about you. They will be blinded by the confusion they have strewn around your lives. You are now My trained vessels. You are now My new warriors, fit and trained at My own hand. Go forward no matter how dark the path might seem. I am with you. My presence will guide you. My power will accomplish everything that you will need. Trust what I have taught you. Receive now what has been set aside for your work. I love you.”

Deut. 31:8 NIV

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Matt.10:18-20 AMP 

18) And you will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to bear testimony before them and to the Gentiles (the nations).

19) But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you are to speak; for what you are to say will be given you in that very hour and moment,

20) For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matt. 14:27 AMP

But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!

Rev. 22:17 AMP

The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened]; and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink  the water of Life without cost.

 

God will always have a people. God has a people in training at this very moment. Most of them are not visible to the world and even to the church right now. I believe, however, that they are about to be released from the training in which the Lord has had them; and that they will function in the power of His presence.

In the eyes of the world, most of the church of today is little more than a carnival act. It is a sideshow that is discredited and laughed at by those who boast of their sin openly. They see it as powerless to hinder them in any way. The world has no fear of strong words that are meant to challenge them and little or no respect for the ones who speak those words, and rightfully so.

Most of the visible actions, traditions, and expressions portrayed as God’s Word or displayed as having God’s hand in action are nothing more than well-rehearsed slight-of-hand and practiced deception. Fools have taken His Word out of context and out of line with its original intent in order to fool the needy and the spiritually hungry. What is heralded across the land as having the presence of God with it is often nothing more than emotional manipulation coupled with biblical text to supposedly give it authenticity.

The real church of Jesus Christ has quietly been in training. They have been learning discernment directly from the heart of God. They have been exposed to absolute truth at the feet of Jesus, driven there by the pressures put on them by the sin-embracing church. They have received the heart of God in the presence of God during their intimate moments with Him. They are soon to be brought forth in power to affect their generation with the truth of the Word of God.

In the near future, I believe that the real church of Jesus Christ will rise from the ashes of the lives of those who have willingly submitted themselves to the refiner’s fire. She will consist of those who have craved holiness, truth, and only the presence of God in their lives. She will be adorned with the wonder of the heart of Jesus, equipped with the mighty sword of the Word, and dressed in the spotless garments of the glory of God. She will not have a hint of flesh or the slightest taste for anything the world has to offer. She will be a sold-out, holy people looking only for the coming Bridegroom and moving only for His desires. She will be a holy people set apart from those who have chosen to remain in their empty religion.

Wanting to be counted as holy in God’s eyes,

Jim Corbett

“I hover over the reputation of Jesus. I am about to restore you to how I think of Him. For too many years, those of you who call yourselves by His Name have been allowed to show others He is something that He is not. He is not weak, nor is He a hypocrite. He is not jealous and given to infighting. He does not covet riches. He does not take what is not His. There is no pride or fear in Him. Jesus always flows in perfect love. He never thinks of Himself before others and although He is God, He never esteems Himself higher than the lowest of creation.

"Worthy of all praise, surrounded by glory, adored by all of the heavenly host, Jesus is King of all Kings. He is the Lord over everything, praised through all eternity, and honored with the highest honors for all time. He is Jesus. There is no name in heaven or on earth that is higher than that Name. He is Lord, and delights in being your true Advocate Friend. What kind of representation have you given Him? He has given you His Name to carry in your world. Have you lifted it up so it is held in the esteem that it is due, or have you brought it down to the level of every other name? It is time for you to be an advocate for your Advocate.”

Hebrews 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, …

 

You and I represent Jesus! Have you ever given that enough thought to have it become truth in your spirit? You and I bring either honor or discredit to His Name by the way we act, speak, and live. We carry His Name.

The Bible tells us to raise up a child in the bent in which he or she functions. When she was younger, our daughter, Jubilee, understood and functioned in the concept of compensation for works; so Merry and I established an honor point system for her. In other words, Jubilee was given our own form of compensation for the proper representation of Jesus and our family. This, of course, was over and above the normal praise for who she is and how valuable she is to us, which we bestow upon her lavishly. She is an honorable girl with a wonderful heart.

Points were given when we observed or were told of some “above the normal,” high function. Someone else had to initiate it on her behalf. Points were removed if she brought discredit in any way. When she reached a certain number of points, she received some specific object or privilege that delighted her heart. The delightful thing was that she did not go around trying to be a good representation in order to win points, but her becoming aware of proper behavior through this reinforcement of points helped her to flow naturally in what God desires for all of us.

Our “system” was a mechanical way of making Jubilee aware of the fact that she is a representation of Jesus and our family values everywhere she goes and to everyone she meets. People know something about Jesus and us when they meet her. We have been told by others over the years that they see the character of Jesus being formed in her as she grows in Him.  Jubilee always delights our hearts, but when we see her prospering in the joy of the fact that she understands how she really belongs somewhere and is part of something as important as representing two very valuable families, we praise God for that wealthy concept in her.

People know Jesus by how each of us acts. We may not receive tangible honor points or get a reward because of the way people see Him through our actions; but one day, we will see if we truly have brought glory to His Name. Jesus is the Name above all names. Father God is forming us to wear it well.

Teach me how, Lord,

Jim Corbett