Tag: Devotional

“Everything that I bring to life has an order to it. There is always a beginning, an intermediate time of development and the institution of My plan; and then there is an ending. It is My pattern for physical life. What is never fully appreciated is that My spiritual plan never ceases.

“Your development time in the physical has paramount impact on your spiritual life. The choices you make have eternal impact, not only on your life, but on everyone you encounter. Your interaction with others is My way of refining you and helping them to make proper choices. That is why I put you in training to be like Jesus to your world. Your life is no small thing. Each of your representations to others really influences them for eternity. What you do each and every day has meaning. Make your days count. They have eternal impact on someone.”

Gen. 1:27-28a AMP 

27) So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28a) And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]…

Esther 4:13-14 AMP

13) Then Mordecai told them to return this answer to Esther, Do not flatter yourself that you shall escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.

14) For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this and for this very occasion?

Phil. 2:12b-13 AMP 

12b) …work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

13) [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

 

Interaction with others is God’s way of refining us and those around us. He has placed us in a world that is actually out to kill us, so to speak. As Christians, we are oil floating on top of water and if we are true to our calling, we’ll never mix in because the spirit and flesh cannot function together. God has also called us to overcome that world. Our time spent with others and our responses to them allow us to seek the Father so that we can be changed in order to reflect Christ properly.

Once we have given Jesus Lordship over our lives, it is the Father’s intent to refine, mold, and develop that salvation in us to the fullest extent. If we are going to tell others about Jesus, we will have to be changed so that we can represent Him properly. Our words alone will usually not be enough for others to see their need of Jesus. In fact, if our lives do not mirror Him, our words will more than likely be cast aside.

Your grace is sufficient,

Jim Corbett

“To become wealthy in Me takes time and patience on both Our parts. Because of the astounding work of the cross, you have full and complete access to Me. What you do with that privilege determines how much of My heart you acquire. When We spend time together, I give you more of My passions, plans, and desires. Again, you have the freedom to walk in them or simply take them and allow them to fall by the wayside of your life.

"The more you cherish that to which you have been privy, the more I can trust you with My heart. So many of you live your lives in spiritual poverty when limitless wealth is available to you. You have denied the power of the cross. You have refused the banquet of My love. You have chosen the desert and foolishly refuse to move to plush green pastures because they take time and effort.

"I grieve for you and wish it were not so. But then, you can’t know that because you haven’t asked Me how I feel. You come to Me for your personal reasons and miss My heart. What a waste of what has been won for you by Jesus!”

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.

Mark 15:37-38 AMP

37) Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His life.

38) And the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

 

One day I was recording songs for an internet radio station that we’d developed. The songs were selected for their impact and value in helping the listener to know more of God and draw closer to Him.  One song that has touched me deeply is a song by Larnelle Harris called “I Miss My Time with You.”

As the title implies, it is the Lord expressing how much He misses those intimate moments spent with His children. I believe that the song is a sincere call from our Father to each of us and a truth for which many of us need to repent. We miss Who our Father God is when we simply are too busy to spend time with Him. How foolish we are!

 Your patience and love are amazing, Father,

Jim Corbett

“If I called you to an important project and it meant giving up everything you hold dear, would you do it? If your answer is no, you need to assess your commitment to Me. For that matter, I will assess your commitment level. My Word calls for a commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That means that He is Lord over you, everything you own, and all that you are. You have been bought by Him and are owned by Me. If I called you to an important project and it meant giving up everything you hold dear, would you do it? I am looking for an answer.”

Acts 8:4 AMP

Now those who were scattered abroad went about [through the land from place to place] preaching the glad tidings, the Word [the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God].

Romans 10:9-10  NIV 

9) That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Romans 12:1 NIV 

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…

1 Cor 6:19b-20 NIV 

19b) …You are not your own;

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

 

We are to give everything, just as Jesus did. Of course, we are not the Savior of the world, nor are we the Son of God or anything like that; but we are supposed to walk in the steps of Jesus.  He showed us the way that we would be able to walk in this world—by His power. In covenant with Him, we have taken on His Name. We have chosen to represent Him above anyone else, and we have been given the commission to do so.

As ambassadors of His kingdom, our task is to present to a lost world the elements of an abundant, truthful way to live. There is no room for a compromise of that mandate, if we truly desire to be in accord with His wishes. As we exhibit more of His character, the world will see more of Him. What possible reason will we be able to give for not having walked as Jesus walked on this earth?”

Following You,

Jim Corbett

“I call you to rest. Rest in My faithfulness! I am your Father. You need to understand that My heart is toward you. I do not hold back any good thing from those I love. I love you. Get your focus off of those things that you think you need. Spend quality time with Me. Soon your needs will either change or I will bring forth an answer to them. I am looking for heart interaction with you, not presentations of your laundry list. We need to talk, often. We need to express the love of Our hearts. Trust Me! I am looking out for your best interests.”

Ps. 51:10 AMP 

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

Prov.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.

Amos 5:4b AMP

…Seek Me [inquire for and of Me and require Me as you require food] and you shall live!

Rom. 8:28 NIV  

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

1 Cor. 13:11 AMP

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.

 

Most of us do not really trust God. We pray and do not expect answers. We say that we have faith, but often take matters into our own hands when answers seem delayed. We use our own logic or the logic of the world, rather than trusting in God’s ways.

Then we blame Him for unanswered prayers, not being there for us; and not caring that we are hurting. We truly are like children who will not grow up. We stomp our feet when we don’t get God to think or do things our way and hold our breath in an attempt to move His hand of provision. We simply will not function in the life and fellowship with our Father God that Jesus has provided for us, and then wonder why we have little of the freedom it would provide. How foolish!

I choose to rest in Your faithfulness, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I choose to do astonishing things through you. It is My plan to use you in a way that gives real meaning to your life. You have a hope that is more powerful than many of those who appear successful in your eyes. They feel they don’t need Me, because they can look as if they prosper in their own strength.

"But you, you are Mine. I will show you how to prosper in My strength and power. You will be functioning in My spiritual strength while walking with Me to accomplish My kind of prosperity. They have no knowledge of that kind of wealth. You be encouraged. I see your need. I am faithful. I will never leave you. If you choose to walk closely with Me, once again I say, I choose to do astonishing things through you and with you.”

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.”

Hebrews 13:5b AMP

…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

 

Our relationship with God moves us into much different realms than those of the world. His values are far higher than even the most renowned scholar. His concepts of wealth make no sense to the world. Everything God does has eternal benefits and consequences, whereas worldly investments all pass away.

Seeking after anything of the world is a dead-end venture. Pursuing the things of God is a pursuit that leads to a life that has real significance. Astounding things happen when we sell out to our Lord and His ways.

Teach me to value what You value, Lord,

Jim Corbett