Tag: Devotional

“Are you prepared? Are you prepared to work ceaselessly and tirelessly to understand My ways and find My heart? Are you prepared to defend the honor of Jesus at any cost? Will you give up your life for His life to work through you, so that others can know Who He is? Will you turn from your ways and embrace His ways just because it is right to do so? Are you prepared to love as He loved? Start now!”

 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.”

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?

 

The above Bible verses confirm in my heart that the Lord always tells His people to prepare for a time when strength they do not have at present will be needed at a future date. He is looking for us to grow up, heed His warnings, and become strong enough to face those predicted challenges.

Even the most casual observer can see that our world is changing rapidly. Over the years, the Lord in His mercy has been warning His children to prepare for a time when we will need to be able to function with the heart of Jesus in the midst of those who do not want Him and those who say they serve Him but have no strength to do so.

Most of us don’t want things to change, and some of us desire to discard the warnings; but wish as we might, we cannot stop what is going to happen, especially if these are the end of the end times. Maybe it’s best to heed the warnings and submit to the changes that are needed to represent Jesus properly when called upon to do so.

Do what it takes to prepare my heart to glorify You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I seek out the hardened heart to change it. I pursue the damaged heart to heal it. I embrace the seeking heart to fulfill My Word in it. Examine your heart. Is it soft toward My ways? Are you available to the moving of My Holy Spirit for My reasons? You need to be.”

2 Samuel 14:14b NIV

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

Psalm 51:10 AMP

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

 

I am convinced that God is very particular about heart motives.  Why we do whatever it is that we do is far more important to the Lord than it is to most of us. Jesus had compassion for His motivation. We usually have personal agendas or pride at the center of our actions.

If our motivations for our actions are really as important as I think they are, there are going to be some very surprised Christians facing Jesus one day. I’m afraid some of us will only be bringing tinder for an incredible fire, when we thought we were carrying crowns to lay at His feet.

Change my heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that you are to be a herald and an ambassador, representing and proclaiming the glories of your Lord? My Holy Spirit is to precede you wherever Jesus chooses to make His presence known. After He prepares the way, you are to move with Him, bringing the character of Jesus to those who need to hear and see. Learn your lessons well. Become a study of your Lord. Learn His heart. Put aside any other gods you served at one time, so that you don’t represent them to the ones to whom I send you. Bring His clear life where it is needed through the Holy Spirit’s power. Watch how His life, flowing through you, changes things.”

Acts 4:29-35 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.

32) All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

33) With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

34) There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales

35) and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”

2 Cor. 2:14-16a NIV

14) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

16a) To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

2 Cor. 5:20 NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

 

Sometimes we forget that one of our primary purposes is to take the indwelling Spirit of Jesus to everyone to whom we are sent. That is who we are, what we do, and one of the very important reasons that we have been born again.

Thank You for reminding me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Where are you going to find truth when truth is non-existent in those you trust? Where are you going to find help when the powerful become helpless? Who will be your source for peace when your world falls apart? You need to really see the signs all around you and make some decisions. If you choose “business as usual,” I will not be able to use you when your seasons change. If you choose to do whatever it takes to bring My presence into your life, We will commune in intimate ways. You will see the wonder of what happened at the cross. You will observe hearts that fail from fear from the safety of My Holy Place. You will understand what is happening when others reel in confusion. You make the choice. If you do nothing to draw close to Me at this moment, you have made a choice. It is not a good one!”

Amos 3:3 KJV

“Can two walk together except they be agreed?”

 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 out-flowing 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].

 Phil. 4:8-9 NIV

8) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

9) Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

In the above verses, Paul understood the difference between making a real difference and simply existing. He grasped the concept of finding the heart of Jesus and tailoring his every moment to pursue it with zeal.

Jesus had a single purpose.  Paul had a single purpose.  Any person that was truly used by God was, first and foremost, sold out to God.  God moves on behalf of one who is determined to be in line with His causes.  Most of us aren’t willing to pay the price; and therefore, never receive the joy of knowing the powerful hand of God in our lives.”

What is your determined purpose in life? Really, for what do you get up every day and pine?

Make my life devoted to Your purpose, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“To fulfill My plans, all of your dreams, hopes, and desires must die. There is no room in My economy for someone who will not lay his every desire at the foot of the cross and take up My desires. The closer you get to My heart, the more that truth becomes evident. The closer you get to My heart, the more your own desires become pale and unimportant. For all the days of your life with Me, I have been shaping your spirit to conform with Mine. I have allowed circumstances to take place in your life that have caused you to make either My kind of choices or choices that favor your heart. As you grew with Me, as you have submitted your will to Mine, you have gained insight and wisdom to make choices. Little by little, you have seen the wisdom of My ways. Your heart and your desires have become more and more like Mine with each submission to My will.

"Soon, those of you who have understood the need to function in complete union with Me will understand why it is necessary to do so. Normal wisdom and logical choices will not be the criteria for proper decision making. The untrained heart will be unable to find peace, as difficult decisions will be needed to survive. Only the ones, who know that they are exactly where I desire them to be, will be able to rest in the days ahead. To know where I want you to be and what I want you to do will be simple to the trained, obedient heart that desires only My will. I will be able to guide, direct, and position you, who listen and obey, for specific tasks and optimum impact, even when others, who call themselves Mine, are unable to make any decisions because of fear and confusion. You will be able to discern My will and move in perfect unison with Me. You will care for the things I care about, when the only thing that others care about will be their personal comfort and safety.

"When others move, you will be free to stand still. When others stand immobilized, you will flow in My Spirit, accomplishing My perfect will. We will trust each other completely and move in complete unity. That is the way I have planned it. That is the way it should be. Nothing will be able to hinder you as We move in perfect harmony.”

 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 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?”

John 10:17-18 NIV

17) “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.

18) No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Hebrews 5:8-9 NIV

8) Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered

9) and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

 

No command of the world could touch Jesus. Its dictates, laws, and rulers had no hold on Him. All His authority came from His Father and was returned to His Father. He had learned complete obedience by laying down His every desire in favor of His Father’s desires long before we see His impact on the world as a grown Man.

There is no mystery to doing our Father’s will. We must simply lay down our every desire and commit to function only for His purposes and desires. That freedom, however, does not happen all at once.

The above portion of Scripture, “once made perfect”, used to astound me. In the Amplified Bible, it reads, “And, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped,” which gives us clear insight. Jesus learned obedience through suffering while growing up, and when his flesh man was perfected, God used Him.

We know that He was completely obedient from the time we are able to observe His life, so the “suffering” that is talked about in these verses could not mean the time on the cross or in the garden. It must mean a suffering that He went through before His appearance. That “suffering” infers the continual choice of the death of His own will as man and the acceptance of His Father’s will. He was sinless throughout His life, so He must have been obedient, even while His Father’s perfect obedience was being worked “in” Him. So it must be with each of us.

Not my will, but Yours, Lord,

Jim Corbett