Tag: Faith

“I am deeply concerned with your lack of response to My warnings. I don’t want you to begin to strive to do anything that I ask you to do. I do, however, ask you to submit yourself to Me, so that I might change you. It is for your good that I ask you to observe the times and seasons in which you live. It is for your good that I ask you to draw close to Me. I know that you are hearing the same requests over and over again, but it is necessary for Me to tell you so that you make some proper decisions regarding your priorities. Listen to this. Time is short. I need those, who follow Me with all of their hearts, undistracted by the world in any way.

“Things will soon not be as they are now. You must heed My call to sell out while you can, so that you will be able to be used by Me fully. Most of the world and many in My church will wander around, wide-eyed and drooling at the mouth from fear as circumstances change. I will need leaders who remain clear thinking and full of My passions. They will be used to bring reason to an unreasonable time. My people must now prepare, so that they will have what is needed for those who are unprepared. Please listen and begin a life of submission.

“Do not believe in your faith to uphold you. Believe in My commitment to you and you will be a beacon in very dark places. I will soon do a new thing in those who heed My call. I will be strong for them. Those who do not respond now will not be able to find the kind of wealth that will be needed to overcome when darkness prevails. Come to Me now with longing hearts. Be like children, so that I am free to make you mature missionaries, who are free when others only feel bondage.”

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 to 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?

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.”

 

The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I’m convinced that preparedness is a key. Throughout the Word, God calls His people to prepare; then He acts. Those who heeded His warnings and encouragements thrived because they acted on His call. Others, who did not listen to Him, were overcome by the foretold circumstances.

I may have shared this with you before, but it brings home a point. Suppose you were in jungle combat training but felt that things could not be as bad as everyone said they were, or that you knew enough to get by. Because of your foolishness, you decided not to attend the survival training meetings, or the hand-to-hand combat seminar, which was held on the same night as the football game; and parachute training was somewhat of a bore. Things would go pretty much as usual for a while as you slept in the safety of your barracks. Your life would seem relatively safe, at least until you found yourself in line to get on the plane that takes you to the drop zone over the jungle. About then, I suppose that your eyes would be pretty wide with fear.

As you were in the air, I imagine your focus would be to attempt to get some information from the others around you. More than likely, you would ask some pretty pointed questions regarding what they had learned in training.

About the time you hit the jungle floor, (if you survived the jump,) you would probably realize that you are really no good at what you are called to do. Not only are you unreliable, you are now a hindrance to those around you because you require of them what you should have learned yourself long ago. Bankrupt of any real skill, your survival now depends on their knowledge and skills.

Let’s carry this a little further. What if they never went to classes either?

Wanting to really hear and submit,

Jim Corbett

“Whenever you allow anything or anyone to make you function outside of the character of Jesus Christ, it replaces Him as your god. What you serve is really the lord of your life. Partial service to Jesus is double-minded and not worthy of the kingdom life. You must take account of your life before I take account of it for you. Where are your treasures? If you harbor anger and hatred, a murderous heart governs your life. You have lost the heart of Jesus.

 “If greed is your god, you will not share My spiritual or material wealth with others. You consume what I make available through you on yourself and rob from Me. You do not care enough for them to give away what is rightfully Mine to give to them, wanting to use you to do it. You have lost the heart of Jesus. If you are motivated by the lusts of this world, if others determine how you act, if your own needs dictate your daily activities, your man-made gods are your rewards. You have lost the heart of Jesus. I have made Jesus’ heart available to you. His heart cares only for My desires and for the needs of others. It is the way of the cross. It is life. Why would you choose any other life unless you really desire that life as your lord? That is not a wise choice!”

Joshua 24:15 NIV

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Prov. 28:14 AMP

Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is the man who reverently and worshipfully fears [the Lord] at all times [regardless of the circumstances], but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 25:23 NIV

"His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’”

 

There is an old saying about a shepherd who is stationed as a watchman over his sheep: “The watchman has lost his perspective when he begins to enjoy killing wolves more than he enjoys protecting sheep.”

In this saying, the merciful watchman has positioned himself to protect those that cannot protect themselves. He is showing mercy. Even if he should have to kill a wolf, his heart position is one of mercy toward the sheep.

In contrast, the other kind of watchman is simply a murderer.  The true motives of his heart may be masked by the task that he is asked to perform - in this case, protecting sheep - but his joy is really fulfilled in the killing of wolves.

He is merciless, without any love, even for the sheep he is hired to protect. His job is only the covering for him to satisfy his murderous heart. Both watchmen look as if they are performing the same task, but the position of their respective heart motives separates them. There is no common ground for the two of them.

In the same way, we as Christians cannot say that we are following in the steps of Jesus simply because we are doing the “good” things that we think He might do. If our purpose for doing all that we do is not one of showing those who have not found the Lord who He really is; then, we have no common ground with Him.

In our religious activities, in all of our associations, in every act of kindness, if we don’t have the desire that the recipients of our actions see Jesus in us that they might be saved; then our heart is no better than the shepherd who enjoys killing wolves.  From a heavenly perspective, we really are like murderers. A person with a murderous heart cares little if anyone lives or dies, unless he somehow benefits from either prospect. We are merciless.  Jesus, in contrast, willingly gave His own life, so that everyone would have the possibility of truly living. His heart was, and still is, full of mercy.

As our Lord prepares us for His coming, He is showing all of us how little we truly represent Him, even though we call ourselves by His Name and pretend to care as He does. He will not truly be joined with anyone who does not have the same heart attitudes that He does in every area.

Teach me to serve only You, Lord,

Jim Corbett