Tag: Devotional

“Do you know that I will use your weaknesses to bring many into My kingdom? That’s right. The offenses that we’ve worked through and completed will be a testimony of My love and keeping power. They will also show the world of My patience, mercy, and grace. You need to never give up. You need to understand that when you have sinned, you need Me the most. When you have need of forgiveness is when I am waiting for you to come to Me to be forgiven. The enemy of your soul will lie to you and tell you that I have closed the door to My presence when you fall. He will say that you have sinned the same sin once too often to be able to come to Me.

"Do not listen to Him. I knew how many times you would sin after you gave your life to Jesus and I still invited you into My family. I also know the day you will be released completely from that sin that keeps you from being whole. I want to be with you all the time. Come to Me especially when you have sinned. My love will bring you to repentance, so that you can be free. Let’s overcome those things that harm you one by one. I love you.”

Romans 2:4 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

I Thess. 5:24 AMP

Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

I Pe. 4:8 AMP 

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].

 

Most of us forget that our understanding of our need for God’s mercy is what separates us from the world. It is our understanding that we have need of a Savior that allows us to open our hearts to Father God’s provision of salvation. That understanding is what brings us to repentance and draws us to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

At the cross, the tabernacle veil was torn in two, signifying that we have full access to a Holy God because of Jesus. Before this incredible gift, only a high priest was allowed into the presence of God. Now, since Jesus died for our sins, we - even when we are filthy from sin - are looked upon through the shed blood, and fully accepted as His loved child. We can go to God because of our need, not after our need is gone.

When I first came to the Lord, I avoided going to God after I sinned. I felt that He would hold my sin against me. I would go to Him only when I could no longer bear to be apart from Him and only after a reasonable time that He might “cool off.”  I didn’t know that He felt the loss of my presence, and was waiting to forgive me so that our fellowship could be restored. What an astounding God!

Thank You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“As you submit to Me, you will understand why I take you to places that require more than you have in your own strength. I take you there so that you will need Me. The one thing that separates you from those who will be separated from Me for eternity is that you understand your need of a Savior and they do not. That understanding allows you to call upon My power. Each time you call, you are confirming your need and your understanding of Lordship. You are humbling yourself. That is wisdom. That is truth.”

 2 Samuel 14:14b NIV 

“But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”

Ps. 25:9 AMP 

He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way.

James 4:7-10 AMP

7) So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.

8) Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].

9) [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].

10) Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

 

As the world defies the wisdom of God by inventing ways to never need Him, we are privileged to have expressed our need of His mercy. Personally, I didn’t have enough brains to do it in a logical way. I had to be broken and desperate before I surrendered and admitted my inner bankruptcy. It was the mercy of God that took me there.

Everyone has the same opportunity to respond to God, for it is the same God who is devising ways to bring people to Him. He does not hold one person higher than another. The next time you meet someone who really needs God, it would be good to remember that it is only through God’s power, mercy, and grace that you and I had enough stuff to even respond to His call to us. You are to pray for that person, not come against or consider yourself better than that person.

I need to always remember, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You need not be afraid of any assignment I give to you. I will equip you; then I will call you. You need to understand, however, that you will need Me to accomplish your task. I plan it that way. As important as anything is that I call you to do, it is more important that We do it together. Any time you attempt to function independently of Me, you will miss the eternal value of what you are to do. Things may look successful, but much has been lost by your pride. Submit to Me for what is needed as My ambassador. Do only what I ask you to do. Seek My heart to find out how to do it. Need Me. I will be there for you. Eternal values will be the result of Our working together.”

Matt.16:19 AMP 

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and 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.

John 4:34 NIV 

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

John 5:19-20 NIV 

19) Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

20) For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.”

John 14:12 NIV

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

 

Jesus and His Father functioned as One. Because they were One in the Spirit, they could flow in unity. That may sound trite, but it is very important.

An eternal job needed to be accomplished. Directed power from heaven was used to accomplish that task through Jesus. There was no separation, no individuality, no hidden agenda of any kind in Jesus. His heart was the same as His Father’s. His motives were the same. The eternal work was accomplished.

Now we are asked to do the same. We are to seek our Father to find His will and then find His way to accomplish anything we are called upon to do. So many of us attempt to do our will our way and then wonder why nothing works.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I would like to remind you of some things of great importance. I’m sure that you know what I’m about to tell you; but in this season, it would be good for you to place them a little closer to your heart. I love you. I have provided a way, through Jesus, for you to be free forever. You will never be separated from Me again, because of what He has done for you. Your relationship with Me has been reconciled forever. I am always for you and never against you. My Holy Spirit is available to you for comfort, encouragement, and guidance in whatever you do. I have also provided you with each other. You have an eternal family. As wonderful as that is for your future, some of them are near you right now, all over your world. You will never be alone. Wherever you go, if you are ever in need, you can count on your family to be there for you. You have a God and a family who love you. You also have been given the honor of loving back.

"As your world grows darker, you will be a brighter light because of this love for Me and for your family. You will also be safer because We are together. In addition to all of that, you have a purpose. I have crafted you Myself. If you seek Me, you will see the value that you are to Me; and you will also see the reason why you were born. Remember often: You have a God who loves you. You have a bright family in a dark world. You have a purpose for being born. It is important to Me that you be thankful for what I have done.”

John 13:34-35 AMP 

34) I give you a new commandment that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another.

35) By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves].

John 16:7 AMP

However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].

Col. 1:20 AMP

And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.

Phil. 2:2 AMP

Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention.

 

As I was writing this message, many thoughts came to me. Most importantly is the obvious - what our loving Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have done and are doing.

What also came to mind is something that I find I have not considered of enough importance: God’s gift of family. Seeing the seasons as a watchman, my ministry is to encourage the body of Christ to draw closer to the Lord. To do that, the Lord reveals areas of danger and things that are out-of-line. Often I have to go to Him for refreshing after seeing these things. It is difficult not to become discouraged at these times.

What has come to me this morning is a renewed wonder of what is my high honor and great privilege. I have a loving family in Christ. That thought has often been placed somewhere behind mission, covered by the urgency of the times. Because of my zeal, I realize that I am often not as grateful as I should be for this privilege. How foolish!

Because we are in faith outreach, the only way we have been able to move forward over the years is because of the love of this Christ-like family. I am humbled by the love we receive - and very, very grateful. Thank you, Father!

In the upcoming season, let’s all remember and pray that our Lord will continue to remind each of us how much we need to be grateful for His abundant love, no matter what is happening all around us. God has given much. What has clouded your ability to remember how much?

Getting back to the basics of my Father’s heart,

Jim Corbett

“As I promised, I am going to make you into the likeness of My Son, Jesus. The challenges before you will be death to your flesh. Sometimes they will cause you to despair if you don’t understand that I am truly rebuilding you. While We are working together and you are being prepared, I have some suggestions to help you along the way. As you go, I will convict your heart and help you with other thoughts for your journey.

"Start here. Let’s delight in the journey together. Love passionately. Have more fun, knowing that you are in My hands. Sell or give away at least one third of all you own. Eliminate everything in your life that “owns” you. (Get rid of your TV and video games - they own you.) Do not walk closely with fools who talk of foolish ideas that are not in My Word. Eat right. Take long walks alone or with a friend. Decide to love people through My Son. Determine to see others as Jesus sees them. Smile a lot. Smile some more. Become a study of your mate’s needs.

"Love your mate passionately. Go on dates with your mate. Pray with your mate. (If you don’t have a mate, focus your love on Me.) Study your children as the gifts that they are. Love your children passionately with holy love. Spend time with your children or help someone with theirs. Find some way to honestly compliment everyone. Take more time to do everything; slow down. Be at peace with your relationship with Jesus. Sing more. Rest more. Sit and talk with Me anytime you can. Come to Me more often, simply to be together. Cultivate biblical reasons to be hopeful.

"Get your eyes off yourself and your own needs. Learn to devote yourselves to the needs of others. Tell others that they are valuable. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive some more. Seek to make new friends. Remember that this life is not a trial run; it is the real thing. Remember why you are living this life. Live it as Jesus would live it. He, in fact, desires to live His life through you. Be blessed in your comings and goings. I love you!”

2 Cor. 2:14-16a AMP 

14) But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.

15) For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:

16a) To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh].

 

Jesus endured the cross because of the joy of what it was accomplishing.  So many of us walk around prune-faced because God is doing some carving of our flesh. During those times, most people would not desire to serve the Lord because of us, no matter what we said. Our countenance would drive them away.

Why wouldn’t we approach this incredible walk with God - not only from a spiritual aspect, but from the physical also - so that we can be a proper witness all the time? We prepare for everything else we do. Why wouldn’t we take some logical steps to insure that things that hinder us from accomplishing our journey are eliminated? Why wouldn’t we add anything to our lives that would help us be a better witness?

Things that have no bearing on a proper relationship with our Lord get in the way. They are like rocks in our backpack. Why would we give notice to them, much less carry them?

This relationship that we have entered into because of Jesus is the most astounding life that anyone could live. Our future is bright. We need to do what it takes to eliminate anything that clouds our perspective of the inner joy we should be having in the journey, even in rough times.

Show me the rocks, Lord. Let me get rid of them now!!

Jim Corbett