Tag: Devotional

“Are you feeling the pressure of change taking place in your life? Do you fluctuate between being bold in your actions (flowing in your anointing) and fear (holding back, almost immobilized?) It is because I am calling you to move beyond your comfort zone. I am requiring more of you, adapting you to your changing world. I have told you that much is happening in the spiritual realm and your world is responding accordingly. Situations and seasons are accelerating. My promises are unfolding quickly. You must change with them or all will be out of order.

"You see, you are very important to My work being done. You carry My Spirit. I give you an anointing, and I fill you with My presence to touch your world. Do not take lightly My encouragement to do what is necessary to become all that you can be in Me. Exchange your life for Mine now. Draw close. I love you and I desire for you to come into the fullness of your anointing. Much is to be done. I plan to use you.”

Eph. 6:12-13 NIV

12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

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 of the water of Life without cost.

 

I reflect back on the concerns and worries that I encountered even ten years ago. They seem like grade school felt when I was in college. The world is not the same. In fact, people who are really pressing in with the Lord have been saying that something has happened in the spiritual realm. There is a darker presence all around us.

If that is the reality, then it would seem that the tools we were using before the darkness increased would be inadequate for these present days. Please understand, I am not saying that God’s tools are inadequate at all. I am saying that ten minutes of prayer each day, unfocused praise and worship, disregarded hidden sin, cold unfruitful lives, and all else that allowed us to remain complacent will not suffice in this rapidly changing world.

The Lord is now requiring us to step up to the task and really become who we have been saying all along that we are. No more semi-spiritual church games, if we want to fulfill our purpose in life.

I reflect back to the 9/11 plane that was taken down to the ground by the passengers. From what I understand, some of the pivotal players on that plane were Christians. In a heartbeat moment, their lives were required of them. Whatever they had to call upon to overtake the hijackers was either what they had on tap from their relationship with the Lord prior to that instant or it was given to them during the trial.

I’m convinced that the time we’re in now is the beginning of one of the finest hours for members of the church who will see and hear and respond to what the Lord is saying. I believe that those who press in and respond to the Lord will play a vital part in the strategic plans that He is unfolding at this very moment.

Wanting to hear clearly and respond properly,

Jim Corbett

“If you are Mine in Jesus, the person you were before He became your Lord no longer exists as far as I am concerned. That person is as non-existent as your previous sins. Why do you carry the dead carcass with its past history with you? Your new life is a new beginning. You can discard your old spirit and live in the Spirit of Jesus. Leave its wounds, fears, sins, and failures behind. Take on your new life in Christ. Allow Him to live in and through you. That old person is dead. It is no longer you. Stop living as if the work of Jesus is not complete.”

2 Cor. 5:17 AMP

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ, (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Ephesians 3:16-17 AMP

16) May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling  your innermost being and personality].

17) May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love…

Phil. 4:13 AMP 

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

 

Our sufficiency is not in ourselves if we are abiding in Christ. Any power we have to overcome is the power that is ours through the work of the cross and the new birth. When we became born again, our old inner man died, and the new person we are in Christ became alive and lives this day in each of us.

So many of us choose to carry around the old dead carcass and its memories alongside our new life. We try to remain in and retain that old familiar being, rather than taking on the being of Jesus that dwells in us. He never sinned, so our past sins no longer exist; and that is just the beginning. In Him, we are free. We have the privilege of starting new, not carrying all of our old tapes, fears, wounds, and useless actions with us, unless we choose to do so. How foolish we are if that is where we choose to live, instead of living in and through Christ where we belong!

Teach me Your truth, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you see the mounting tide of anger in your world? Do you see nation against nation becoming predominant? Do you see that soon, very soon, everyone will be calling for a redeemer to solve daily issues? You know better. You have the answer. He is Jesus. Tell as many as you can before it’s too late.”

Isaiah 8:11-14 AMP

11) For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12) Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.

13) The Lord of hosts – regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].

14) And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2 Cor. 5:20-21 NIV

20) We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

21) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

For a long time, we have been hearing that we are living in the end times. Most people scoff at the notion that we really are living in the times foretold by the Bible. Most Christians act as if everything is going to stay the same as it always was, when we above all should know better.

God is calling this generation of believers to observe the times and seasons and make a quality decision to become all that we can be, so that as many can come to Christ as will listen. That is going to take some pretty radical changes in our thinking about what is important and what is not. It is also going to take some nerve to act on what we know to be true. How are you doing with that? What are you doing about it?

Show me truth and help me to act on it, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Is there anyone you need to repent to or ask their forgiveness? It is important that your relationships are in order, if you are looking to have intimacy with Me. How can you come to Me if you disobey My command to forgive those who have offended you, or choose not to make things right with those you have offended? How do you expect Our relationship to be complete with sin between Us? Put things in order between you and everyone you can, as soon as you can. Then come to Me. I will share My life with you. I will wait!”

Acts 24:15-16 NIV

15) …and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

16) So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

23) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

 

Most of us in the church hope that the Lord doesn’t really mean what He says in these verses. Surely He is not that concerned about our relationships with others if we say we are following Jesus. Is He? He is?

Get my heart right, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Have you noticed that people in the world are becoming more vicious toward one another? That is no accident. The veil of restraint is being lifted more swiftly during these end times to begin to reveal clearly the true hearts of those who are in rebellion against Me. I am turning them over to their depraved nature. Notice how they are beginning to truly enjoy hating one another. Even their games involve killing and destruction. Murder has become sport. The property and life of others has no meaning. They are progressively moving past even normal civil restraints and on to blatant disregard for all authority, vacant of love. It is society breaking down and moving toward its eventual destruction.

"You, My people, however, must put into effect what I have been teaching you. You must love one another deeply. You must pass normal caring and proceed to be advocates one for another. I am now asking you to throw off all the restraints of selfishness and independence toward your brothers and sisters in My covenant family. I am now requiring you to actually seek to provide for the needs of others. Set aside your own interests and pursue the best interests of others before your own just as Jesus did. That kind of love is what will bring those who have ears to hear to Him during the coming times. It will be what sets you apart from the world.

"As you move closer to Jesus and begin to act toward others as He would, while the world moves farther from His kind of love, your light will become increasingly brighter. The difference between the ways of the world and My ways will become very evident. You will proclaim My love of them by your love toward them and toward one another.”

 Romans 15:1-7 NIV

1) We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

2) Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

3) For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

4) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

5) May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,

6) so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7) Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

Titus 3:3 AMP

For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another.

 

The dictionary translation of “advocate” is: “one who defends or maintains a cause for another.” The place where we see advocacy as it applies to our mission is to be “advocates one for another, maintaining a cause for another and then to the world.” The Bible dictionary defines “Advocate” as counselor, comforter, supporter, backer, and helper.

When the true body of Christ begins to function in their everyday lives as they are intended to function, there will be little need for preaching to the world. Our lives and our actions will be the testimony of Jesus to them. They will see who He is by who we are. How will that ever happen if we don’t start by loving one another?

It has been interesting to observe the ability for the world to appear to be able to love one another better than the body of Christ does.  9/11 was a very visible example of that.

After September 11, 2001, many people gave far past the needs of their own lives and lived for the needs of others. Christ’s love was indistinguishable from the world’s love. In fact, the world often seemed to love more sacrificially. There were isolated examples of the Christian church stepping into its intended role; but for the most part, we failed miserably to show the nature of Jesus by our continuing sacrifice.

As things grow darker and hatred spreads deeper into all elements of society, our actions will be the only message that penetrates hardened hearts. Empty words will not suffice. Only as we love deeper than they ever could, will they see Jesus. That is the way it was in decadent Rome. The dying Christians - in the arena, on the roadside crosses, and in caves - gave testimony of Jesus by how they sacrificed themselves for Jesus. They loved those who killed them just as He did.

We who call ourselves Christians have difficulty loving each other. God requires us to love the world even unto death - a far cry from our abilities at present.  As we take small steps toward each other, He will build in us the heart to love even those who hate us - something the world has no ability to do. That is where we are called to go so that we point to Jesus. Right now we point only to ourselves. The cartoon character, Pogo, once said something like this: “We have seen the enemy and he is us.”

Help us, Lord!

Jim Corbett