Tag: Devotional

“Within the heart of any fellowship, whether individual or corporate, must beat the desire for intimacy, commitment, honesty, and trust. Without them, I am unable to express Myself to the world. Without them, the world will never see Jesus in those through whom I have chosen to express Him. Sad to say, they are missing in most of your dealings with each other and with the world. You gather together wanting to hear the expression of My Word, not knowing that you are to be the expression of My Word. How you act toward one another is the outward expression of the depth of your intimacy with Me. You meet together, not understanding that I have designed that fellowship to present Jesus to one another. The way you treat each other displays your depth of commitment to Me and whether you honor My desire to move in your midst.

"The world observes your behavior and realizes how shallow you are. It observes that you are not honest, even with each other; so it cannot trust the words that you present to them. They fall to the ground in front of your feet, not because they have no potential power, but because their effectiveness is nullified by your actions. Don’t you see that who you are, especially to each other, is more important than what you say? Can’t you understand that what you do, especially to each other, testifies of the work of the cross? All of your religious activity is nullified if you do not love one another.

"Turn your hearts back toward those I have placed in your midst. Your relationships are not complete as far as I am concerned. Your investment in them is vital to Me. Your commitment to those around you indicates the depth of commitment you desire with Me.”

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?”

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

 

You and I are on this earth for two reasons: to know God and to represent Jesus. The more we invest in really knowing God and His heart, the better we will represent Jesus - to each other and to the world. The less we know our God, the less we will function like Jesus in our dealings with each other and with the world. If that doesn’t shake you up, little else will.

Wanting to know God intimately so that I can represent Jesus properly,

Jim Corbett

“I am about to bestow gifts upon those who have been faithful to Me in this time of drought. I will also show Myself to those who do not know Me. These individual giftings will be a prelude to My presence being made known in groups of both surrendered servants and open rebels. I will show up where I am unexpected. I will empower those who have focused on My heart, not My hand of power. Once again, I will shake up My church by the power of My Holy Spirit. She will never be the same. The times of man-centered services will be no more when I am present. Time will go unnoticed, praise will be real, and worship will be so intense that the intrusions of the flesh will be set aside for good. I will maintain order. No one will be in charge but My Holy Spirit.

"Sometimes I will visit unannounced to those who do not even know Me. People will be going about their daily tasks in office buildings, warehouses, bars, and anywhere I choose to visit, only to be separated from their flesh to bask in My presence. I will cleanse them, restore them, and empower them for service immediately. Other times, I will come to those who have been waiting for Me. It will be My prerogative, My choice. I will make myself known to little children, wild rebels, and wayward sons and daughters. I will visit and empty places where people have been judged insane. They will be restored to their right minds, delivered from all bondages, and go about proclaiming My Word in power.

"To those of you who have waited for this time, you are about to be blessed as I begin to move. Some of you, however - you who have jealousy in your hearts or have wanted My presence for your own gain - will be set aside. You will be exposed for who you really are. Because you have not submitted to My call to a crucified life, you will watch while others show the world the power of the cross. To those who have ears to hear, listen to what My Holy Spirit is saying. For a season, I am about to visit you with signs, wonders, and great gifts. They will be unlike anything you have seen in your generation. They will bring a new focus to the cross, a dedication to Jesus, and a spirit of truth to My people.”

Isaiah 41:4 AMP 

Who has prepared and done this, calling forth and guiding the destinies of the generations [of the nations] from the beginning? I, the Lord – the first [existing before history began] and with the last [an ever-present, unchanging God] – I am He.

1 Cor. 1:18-19 AMP

18) For the story and message of the cross is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their way to perdition, but to us who are being saved it is the [manifestation of] the power of God.

19) For it is written, I will baffle and render useless and destroy the learning of the learned and the philosophy of the philosophers and the cleverness of the clever and the discernment of the discerning; I will frustrate and nullify [them] and bring [them] to nothing.

 

From the sound of things, our Father is about to put to shame the box in which we have attempted to contain Him. But then, that has always been the case. The glory of God is so much greater than any man can attempt to duplicate.

In today’s churches, because of the hardness of the hearts of most of us, we have attempted to portray our perspective of who God is to a world that doesn’t seem to recognize Him. That’s because we do not really know Him ourselves. We cannot give someone a description of the One we haven’t ever really seen.

I certainly am not an expert on the characteristics of any kind of revival. In fact, to attempt to characterize and categorize the aspects that signify revival is foolish. God usually confounds those who attempt to do so by “being God” and doing something unique every time. Whenever true revival occurs, however, it has one element missing from those conjured up by man. What’s absent is the presence of anything man-made.

In the early 1900’s, the Holy Spirit visited a warehouse on Azuza Street in California for a season. While He was there, the “preacher” hid his face from those present by placing his head in a crate so that he could be alone with his Lord. Those attending spent their time under benches and in corners, getting “right” with God, sometimes for days. Others were dropped to their knees in repentance as far away as two blocks from the warehouse that He chose to envelop. Anyone who attempted to stand and proclaim their own words in “the meetings” was dropped to his knees under the power of God. Flesh was not allowed in the presence of God. God did something that man had never heard of before.

We have become so dulled in our experience with God that we have attempted to duplicate His presence with more songs, louder preaching, and empty promises of power. We have “cast this out and bound that” in make-believe, macho bravado. We have said, “Thus sayeth the Lord,” when He has not said it. We have falsely “taken cities” with pumped up enthusiasm, conjured up by “evangelists” who have to come back to that same city to “take it” again. (It amazes me that they are even invited back.) We have become foolish to the world with our empty promises, nonsensical actions, and powerless lives.

I believe that God will not allow that to continue for much longer. His Word is too precious for Him to allow us to mess with it as we have, without Him intervening and saying “enough.” God will have His holy people, His way, in His time.

Needing to “drop and wait,”

Jim Corbett

“As you grow in Me, many will come to you in need of what you have. Some will simply pass by on their way to other places. Others will tarry with you until they are whole enough to stand on their own. Still others will meet Jesus for the very first time because of the anointing that I place on you for their sake. Because you are beginning to understand your place in My economy and move only after waiting for My presence, I am free to anoint you with whatever is needed in any given situation.

"The more you give yourself to Me, the more I am able to impart Myself to you and direct others to you so they can find truth. A new portion is yours because of your seeking Me with all your heart. I am pleased. I will bless you with an abundant life. It will be My kind of abundance, full of eternal, life-giving qualities. Give away what you have now; I will continually give you more as it is needed. I love you!”

Hebrews 12:12-13 NLB

12) ”So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs.

13) Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.”

 

You need to know that there are many people waiting for us to grow up in Christ. They may not know it. We may not know them now, but in the Lord’s timing our paths will cross. In those ordained moments, days, weeks, years, or lifetimes, what has been given to us will be beneficial to their lives. It may even be life changing.

So many of us fail to realize that any growth to which we submit is really for the glory of God and the benefit of others. As we give the Lord more place in our lives, His wealth in us allows more to be poured to others. We become agents of His nature to those to whom He sends us or to those who come to us.

It’s not about me, is it, Lord?

Jim Corbett

“Do you really understand the impact of whatever you do? I know that you have learned to function in your world with a relatively realistic approach to the impact of your actions. Do you have any comprehension, however, of what is happening in the spiritual realm with your every move, especially if you are My children? You need to know that your words really mean something. Your motivations, especially dark motivations, have consequences because of this higher law. When you curse, judge, and separate your hearts from one another, you allow fruitful playgrounds for the demonic forces. You nullify every good that you are attempting to do. You leave yourself and others wide open for the ploys of the enemy.

"Stop being so naive. Stop being so independent of My complete plan. You are no longer of your world even though you are in that world. You have become part of My world. Begin to function properly in it, not like the street corner hype salesmen; but like the holy children that you really are. Grow up and begin to work with Me for My reasons. Learn what I teach you, not what those who have little in common with My plan teach. Use My wisdom to release those in bondage and bring others to Me through Jesus.”

1 Cor. 4:2 AMP

Moreover, it is [essentially] required of stewards that a man should be found faithful [proving himself worthy of trust].

Gal.3:3 NIV

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Eph. 4:29-32 AMP

29) Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.

30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).

31) Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

32) And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.

 

I remember many nights being locked up in some church with an evangelist goading me to do some kind of spiritual warfare, so that we could take our city in one fell swoop. We screamed, hollered, and shook our fists in the air. We commanded this, demanded that, and said some really lofty things that we perceived had happened due to all of our “warfare.”  Then we went home with little to show for our effort, except for our pride being reinforced for a supposed job well done.

I remember doing all this because it seemed the right thing to do and others were doing it. I’m sure the Lord had mercy on some of us because our hearts wanted to know truth.

What I do remember is that few of us in that assembly really knew each other. I know for sure that some there would have nothing to do with some of the others present. One couple actually hated another brother and sister in Christ.  We were attempting to function in the theory of love toward others, but didn’t even have that basic tenet of our belief in practice one with another.

I often see the body of Christ very much like a young child who has been given very powerful weapons to use. Even though we have the capability to actually fire those weapons, no good can come from our misuse of them.

Stop me from hindering Your work, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Freedom comes only after you have fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus. Most people attempt to be free without that full commitment. They find themselves attempting to find things and participate in events to fill the emptiness that ensues because of their rebellion. Now is the time to give yourself completely away. Stop dealing in half measures. Freedom will begin as soon as you start functioning in the truth you will find under absolute Lordship. Do it today!”

Matthew 24:35 NIV

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

1Cor 6:19b-20 NIV

19b) You are not your own;

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

2 Cor 5:14-15 AMP

14) For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died;

15) And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake.

 

Because of past experiences, wounds, and fears, most of us have difficulty surrendering fully to anyone, even Jesus. If we do, we no longer have control of our circumstances. That frightens us.

We have a problem. There are no halfway commitments with Jesus. Either He is the Lord over all areas of our lives or He is not. If we are not fully surrendered, our Father is finding ways to make our surrender complete. We wonder what is wrong, why nothing is working for us.  Most of the time, it is simply a call for us to do what we said we would do when we gave our lives to Him in the first place - give Him everything. Once that is done, the rest falls in place.

Search my heart and show me what is not completely Yours, Lord,

Jim Corbett