Tag: Devotional

“Do you understand how important your every word and your every action are? I don’t believe that you do. If you did, you would not be saying and doing some of the things that are part of your everyday life. I see you slander those who come against you. I see you gossip about your neighbors and your friends. Often you ridicule those who are called by My Name because they do not believe exactly as you do. Some of you have become the judge and the jury of those who have not been with Me long enough to look and dress or act in the manner that you see fit. You shun them from your fellowship because of your pride in your religion of Christianity. It is bad enough that you choose to condemn those who have not embraced Me, but when you come against anyone who is called by My Name, I am not pleased. You are coming against Me!

"Why do you place yourselves above anyone? Have I not called you to serve everyone? You represent My Son. People see Who He is by how you talk and act toward others, especially those who are called by the same Name as you are. You do not realize how harmful your wayward tongues and hardened hearts are to you, especially when you have come against My anointed ones. I have placed reciprocal judgments on your life because of them. Those judgments have My signature on them. I have always paid in kind for actions done.

"If you bless, I will bless you. If you are merciful, mercy will be given to you. When you do one of My children harm you have placed yourself in position for the same kind of harm to come to you for your training. Reflect on your past actions toward others, especially my greatly loved children. Then allow Me to show you how your actions have come back to you. You are called to function above the ways of the world. I ask you to do that because of your respect and love for Me. If that is not enough of a reason, I have sorrow for you. You will now clearly reap whatever you sow.

"Soon it will be paramount that you stand in your world in a manner that brings honor to My Name. It is more important than ever to do so in these closing hours. The days of shallow representation of Me are over. It is important to Me that others see a true representation of My Name. I will have little mercy toward those who tarnish the Name that is above all names. Remove yourself from that group or I will judge your actions with an iron fist.”

1 Chronicles 16:21-22 AMP

21) He allowed no man to do them wrong; yes, He reproved kings for their sakes.

22) Saying, Touch not My anointed, and do My prophets no harm.

Esther 7:10 AMP

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was pacified.

Obadiah 1:15 AMP

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your dealings will return upon your own head.

Luke 6:38 NIV

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

 

God’s signature judgments are sometimes horrible to watch. People involved usually reel under the weight of them. What is even more difficult to observe is when those under the judgments are oblivious to them and why they are happening.

A pastor friend of mine, who has given Merry and me wise counsel often, made this statement when we were seeking help for judgments that were coming against us. He said, “Confidence in God is how little you respond when falsely accused.”

After taking that advice and not responding in any way to the “done in love” accusations, we have seen those who had accused flounder visibly as they felt the weight of the hand of God on their lives. Because we chose not to defend ourselves, we had the opportunity to see our God defend us as each person experienced the tailor-made response to their words. Father God has a way of doing that for His children. Often, we have wept as we see some of them “shake off” the judgment, unable to understand why things are no longer going as well as before.

God’s Word is true and very real. I am convinced that, in these closing hours of time, we are going to realize that He means what He says. We will soon be held accountable much more readily for our words and actions. It’s time once again to become aware of Who we represent and how we are representing Him.

Make me accountable, Lord,

 Jim Corbett

“Delight in those I bring to you. Cherish your family. Cherish your mate. If you have no mate, allow Jesus to be your covering. Tuck in under His love. Flourish because of His commitment to you. Every need you have to bring life to the world around you is found in Him. Your need for Him invokes His covenant promises to you. You are safe.”

Proverbs 18:10 NIV

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

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].

 

Those of us who are in Christ are never alone. We have the promise and the privilege of His presence in our lives for every situation and every need. Jesus is the answer. Everything else comes after Him.

Thank You for being my Lord, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“You realize that you are running out of time, don’t you? Because everything is quiet at present doesn’t mean that the forces of evil are not at work. They are relentless in their attempts to stifle My Word from going forth. The freedoms you have at present to proclaim the truth about Jesus will soon only be fond memories as, little by little, inroads to the enemy’s agendas are being accomplished. As My church sleeps and functions in a self-serving stupor, opposing forces to My Word are hard at work. They don’t sleep. They don’t quit. They are at war, and you are planning your next social event or looking for ways to bless yourself. I have given you valuable resources and you have used them upon your own lusts.

"People need to hear what you know to tell them. You, however, are too busy using My time as if I don’t care about those who need to hear. When the darkness comes, you will be sad that you wasted the time while it was light. Turn your resources into tools to be used for My work. If you won’t focus on My work, I will remove what you have and give it to someone who will use it properly.”

Isaiah 28:9-11 NLB

9) They say, “Who does the Lord  think we are? Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?

10) He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time, in very simple words!”

11) Since they refuse to listen, God will speak to them through foreign oppressors who speak an unknown language!

Jeremiah 12:5  AMP

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?"

Hag. 1:9-10 AMP 

9) You looked for much [harvest], and behold, it came to little; and even when you brought that home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of My house, which lies waste while you yourselves run each man to his own house [eager to build and adorn it].

10) Therefore the heavens above you [for your sake] withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its produce.

John 12:35 NIV

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.”

 

Nothing is going to stop the predicted plan of God from coming to pass. The New World Order, the building of the temple, the Antichrist, the mark of the beast—everything will come to pass, just as the Word says it will. As that all unfolds, the famine for the Word will become more intense and the dark forces will gain more and more control over the laws, and subsequently, over freedoms.

At present, we as Christians have the ability to build anything, do anything, and plan for anything with limitless freedoms. What is so sad is the fact that we are as if in a drunken stupor. Nothing seems to wake us up to the fact that our Father desires us to tell as many people as we can about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before it is too late. Ministries starve while those that have use it for themselves. We are literally saying: “No thanks; it’s all mine and anyway, I’m pretty busy, Lord.”

Forgive us, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I’ll cover your back. I mean it. I will forever be there for you when you need My help. You can count on Me. Whether you believe it or not, I have always been there for you in the past, even when it may not have looked or felt like it. I have guided you and I have directed your steps. I have even devised ways for you to need Me. You need to trust Me. My provision does come in many forms. Sometimes you will only understand the form it takes much later, but it is always there. You need to rest in the fact that I will always be with you and for you, no matter what I have you go through. I have My reasons. I love you.”

2 Samuel 14:14 NIV

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

Romans 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.

2 Cor. 7:10 NIV

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

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!]

 

So many of us misinterpret the Word of God, thinking that God will never allow difficult circumstances to happen in our lives, or that harm will never come to us because we belong to Him. That is foolishness. It is unbiblical. Start with those who died in the arenas in Rome and go from there. They were God’s most beloved.

God’s intent is for each of us to walk and conduct ourselves in the same way that Jesus walked and acted. Whatever it takes for us to be formed into the image of Jesus, so that others can see Who He is, He will use. It is His mercy. It is His promise.

I am convinced that it is time for us to grow up. This Christian walk is not about how comfortable God can make us. That is another gospel, not the true gospel. It denies the cross.

This walk with God is about God reproducing Jesus in each one of us. He will do whatever it takes to accomplish that. We have choices. We can either embrace His presence with us to accomplish that, or we can fight it and remain selfish and self-centered. The first choice brings a healthy life and true freedom. The other is a slow, whiney, complaint-infested, atrophy-filled, fearful spiritual death.

Bring me to life, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do not defile what I call holy. Do not use My grace to be nonchalant about My commands and My heart issues. I need you to move your heart back to an awe of Me and My Word. You need to shake off the influences of your world and its manmade wonders. Your world has lifted itself up to diminish Who I am. It has determined what you should call holy and worthy of wonder. It attempts to tell you what to fear. Do not be fooled. Do not be taken in. I spoke the world into existence. Start there to regain your perspective.”

Gen. 1:31 NIV 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Psalm 111:2 NIV 

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Psalm 150:1-6 AMP 

1) Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!

2) Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!

3) Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!

4) Praise Him with tambourine and [single or group] dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes!

5) Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!

6) Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

John 19:11 NIV

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above…”

Rom. 11:36 AMP  

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him.] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it).

 

We all love to sit in lofty places. No matter where we are in life, every one of us has a need to be in some form of control. Somehow, we need to be equal to or more than someone else. We have a desperate need to consider our opinion as valuable as anyone else’s. Sometimes we even feel that our way is better than God’s way.  It is called pride and Satan loves to have us wallow in it in any form.

The opposite of pride is full submission to the Lord and His ways over independence and having our own way—at all times. In that full submission, our wonder can only come from Him. Our awe originates in Him. Our every breath is understood to initiate in Him.

Nothing—not the supposed wisdom and authority that man says he has, not the accomplishments to which he can point; and especially, not the independence from God that he has established—should turn our heads from the wonder of our Lord in any way. God calls it foolishness. So should we.

You are my Wonder, Lord!

Jim Corbett