Tag: Devotional

“When I call you to birth a needed work for Me, you are at war. You are pushing aside the kingdom of darkness and making room for My light to cause havoc in the spiritual realm. You are setting the stage for imbedded bondages to be broken in others. You are building platforms for others to walk closer to Me. Until you understand the intensity of what is being accomplished, you will wonder what kind of trial has beset you. Those around you will not understand the weight of what you are going through. At times, it will seem as if even I have left you. It may seem that I do not hear your prayers. That is not so.

“Making way for My kingdom is violent warfare in the heavenlies. Much is being accomplished that cannot be seen by you or by others. Few of the real desires of My heart are being carried out because My people are unwilling to pay what it costs them to overcome, especially paying the price for others. Do not give up. Wait on Me. I am with you. Many will be set free to follow Me with all of their hearts because of your willingness to remain steadfast when there seems to be no end to the season you are in. Once your task is given My life, you will rejoice. I will be able to say, “Well done.” Do it for Me. Do it for others. It is what Jesus has done and would do. It is the way of the cross!”

Haggai 1:7-10 AMP

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.

Matthew 11:12 NIV

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Matt.16:19  AMP

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful) on earth, must be whatever is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven.

Gal. 4:19 NIV

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you...

 

One of the most misunderstood and yet one of the most foundational forms of prayer is waiting on God. The simplest definition of waiting on God would be a continual life devotion to God and an immovable expectation and awareness that He will intervene in your life.

There was no separation between the life of Jesus and the life of His Father in heaven. He did nothing of Himself, and more importantly, He wanted to do nothing of Himself. He had placed His life as an offering before His Father, so the Father could do with it as He pleased.

With that heart position, His life became a continual prayer. The perfect will of His Father in the heavenly (spiritual) realm became manifested in the physical realm unhindered. As the perfect vessel, Jesus imparted the very nature of His Father to the world.

Today, “waiting on God” is our portion of that kind of life, whether for our own needs or on behalf of someone else. As we devote ourselves to our heavenly Father, wanting only His will as our life’s purpose, we become the same kind of vessel to accomplish His will to be “done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Waiting for the will of the Father to be revealed to us and then waiting for it to be accomplished through us is truly the blessed life. Think of it!  In our everyday, ordinary occurrences that we call “life,” we are actually conduits for the will of God to be accomplished through us. All we need do is listen and follow as our only purpose for living.

I am willing to pay the price, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I ask you to recall the many times that I have been faithful to you in the past. Apply My faithfulness to your present situation. Then be assured that I will never fail you in the future. I am your faithful God. More than that, I am your loyal Friend and Sovereign Lord. I know the end from the beginning of your life. I know who you are, where you are going, and what is to become of you. Rest from your concerns. I am for you and never against you. You are Mine and I love you.”

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 150:1-6 AMP

1) Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!

2) Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!

3) Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!

4) Praise Him with tambourine and [single or group] dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes!

5) Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

6) Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

 

A friend of mine once said that there has never been an emergency meeting of the Trinity concerning my life. I forget if that originated with him or if it is a saying that’s been around for some time. Nevertheless, it really helped me to remember my Father’s faithfulness. It gave me confidence to search His Word and then rest in His promises, which resulted in a peace to continue on no matter what my outward circumstances might be. It is time to remember one more time that our God is a faithful God. Jesus is alive and remains our advocate. The Holy Spirit is our comforter.

Thank You for everything, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I would like to use you as a mirror to others. I would like to place My presence in you, so that those who come in contact with you must examine their ways. In knowing you, they will need to make choices in their lives. They will see who they are or see who they need to be, just as those who met Jesus did. I want you to reflect Him with your life. You must understand, however, that the cost to you is high. The price for a true reflection of Jesus is the total elimination of you. Your heart must be so sold out to Him that you no longer exist as you once were.

“Do not be surprised at how alone you are when I place My presence with you. Few of those who come to you will understand what is happening to them because of My worth that is at work through you. You will be rejected often for no apparent reason, and you will no longer fit with many people or belong many places. The only place you will be truly at peace will be with Me. I have planned it that way.”

Mark 6:30-32 NIV

30) The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

31) Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

32) So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

Matt. 14:22-23 NIV

22) Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

23) After he had dismissed them, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Luke 8:43,44&46 NIV

43) And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.

44) She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped……

46) But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus continually desired to go away and be with His Father? I believe that with His Father was the only place He really belonged. It was also where He could be restored and refreshed.

Anyone who has ever functioned under a heavy anointing knows the price that is paid for doing so. It is exhausting to be so deeply in tune and acutely involved for a few minutes - or possibly several hours - focused only on being obedient to the will of the Father. Think of functioning and flowing that way every moment of every day. Jesus did that in human form, so He felt the incredible weight of who He was. People, such as the woman with the issue of blood, took something from Him simply by being in His presence or touching Him. His power was continually being released to meet the many needs continually present wherever He went.

If the Lord places an anointing on your life - not just on some special times, but on every moment of every day - you will be exhausted unless you make it your priority to go to the Father for restoration and refreshing. You will soon realize that being with Him is the most important place for you to be. You will find yourself making excuses to those around you to steal away to be with the One you love most and the only One who fills your being. As was said above, that is the way He planned it for those He loves and who love Him.

Make me a reflection of You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that part of your life with Me must include suffering? I know that in your need you will cry out to Me. I know that when you have no answers, your independence of Me will be nullified and you will listen to My direction. There are times when your rebellious heart will be turned to Me because you’ve come to a dead end in your life. So many times, you squirm and complain when your life seems out of order, or you are uncomfortable. In those times, you need to surrender to Me. Find out why you are in the place in which you are. What is being done deep within you? What kind of training are you in?

“Accept the fact that your life is out of order when I show you the error of your ways. Repent of your sin, not to be removed from your trial, but because sin is an offense to Me. Get your heart right. I need obedient, trustworthy servants for My work. Submit to My hand of love upon you. Submit to the changes that need to be accomplished in you. Your life has been purchased and I am teaching you to represent Jesus. I can use you if you submit to My work in you.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

9) “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

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].

 

Peace enters our lives when we fully understand what this walk with Jesus is all about from God’s perspective. We have been formed to represent Jesus. God promises to change us into His image to represent Him properly.

So many of us desire to have all of the good stuff without going through the suffering that conforms us into the image of the Lord. We also miss the suffering that Jesus feels for those who will be separated from Him for eternity. We don’t really care about the souls of those who are going to hell for eternity. Consequently, we take our head knowledge to those around us. The further consequence of that is that few, if any, people are changed by head knowledge.

God is right this moment calling for a holy generation - a resurrection generation, one that has embraced the cross, waited as if dead to our own abilities to push the gravestone aside; and allowed the Spirit of God to completely eliminate our flesh and renew our spirits. We are a remnant, waiting as if a bride for the Lord to complete His work in us.

There are no shortcuts to completing the work that needs to be accomplished in each of us. Our Lord is very good at placing us in situations and circumstances that are intended to change us. He wants all of us. That’s how much He loves us.

Do what it takes for me to submit to Your hand, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“How much do you really trust Me? How far will you go to place everything that you are and all that you own, even your very life, in My hands? Would you purposely move in harm’s way if I asked you to do so, knowing that you are needed there? Would you forsake your livelihood and all of your possessions to be endued with My power to do My work? Would you embrace the thought of bringing My life to those who hate you, even if it meant your life? These are difficult questions, I know. They are, however, questions that require answers if you say that you serve Me.

“I look at My church and I see weak, shallow relationships that signify a weak, shallow relationship with Me. I see people who call themselves followers of Jesus who have no clue what that really means. They think that I am pleased with their commitment to Me if they give a teeny portion of their money to My workers, go to a cold fellowship regularly, and do little harm to others. That is a religious system that I detest. I have never required anything less than everything from those who follow Me. I have never said that your comfort and safety is My goal for you. I have never given you the freedom to take what is Mine and use it for your comfort areas.

“When will you hear My call to holiness? When will you truly observe the life of Jesus and understand that I expect you to live the way He did? When will My will become your will? I have shown you in My Word, I have warned you, I have sent messengers with exhortations to seek Me and live a Christ-like life. Soon, you will need what you can only find in My presence. Begin to practice My presence now. Begin to seek Me with all your heart. Call upon Me with all your heart, so that you can learn of My heart and My desires for the life that I have given you. Learn to live My kind of life before it is too late. I am waiting for you.”

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.”

Acts 4:29-31 NIV

29) “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

30) Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31) After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

1 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.

 

I love the prayer that the apostles prayed in that room together. Knowing that they were under scrutiny - Peter and John having just been chastised and warned to no longer do anything in the name of Jesus - their prayer was empty of any selfish motive. They prayed for boldness, not safety for themselves. They prayed for the will of the Lord to be done, not to find a way to avoid any trouble. Look what happened. The place was shaken, and then the world was shaken.

Immediately after that, the Word goes on to tell of a life that is unheard of in these days. In fact, the actions of sharing everything one with another, selling possessions so no one has need, is rarely talked about or preached. To do so would empty most churches.

What is noticeable, however, is the connection between walking in the power of the Lord and absolute unselfishness. Rarely are the qualities of total dedication, unconditional surrender of personal well-being, and full surrender of the ownership of everything equated with the ability to boldly speak the Word with true signs and wonders following. We do wonder, however, why the power of God to proclaim His Word with boldness, followed by authentic signs and wonders, is not readily available in our churches today. Hmmm!

Needing to lay it all down,

Jim Corbett