Open post

8/06/22 Just Say Yes

Make sure you respond to the call God has for your life. Make sure you don’t choose to take the easier road by living a life that’s different than God intended.

If you follow hard after God, you’ll probably feel like you’re on the outside looking in within the church. I'm not talking about doing weird things that discredit the integrity of the Gospel. I mean that if you follow the example of the life of Jesus and move only when and where God tells you, people will not understand. You may find yourself giving away your possessions, taking a lesser job so you can reach people, or - heaven forbid - trusting God completely for your provision while you go into full time service.

One of the most heart-wrenching sights you'll ever see is the  emptiness in the eyes of those who have not responded to the call of God, usually because of fear or their lust for worldly goods. Those desires may be simple things, like security, new clothes, or a new car. They understand deep down that they have heard the call of their Creator and have said "no" when asked to fulfill His desires for their lives. Nothing,  absolutely nothing, will satisfy the emptiness of soul that follows.

After saying “no” to the Lord, most of them eventually find themselves working feverishly at some other ministry or filling a myriad  of church positions to cover up the emptiness. The end result is almost always an involvement with other weary, often critical people who are also doing good works, attempting to make a difference of some sort to cover their pain, rather than following after God's original plan for their lives. How sad! How grievous to God. Just say yes!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

Open post

8/05/22 Invited to Tarry

“Do not shake off the desire that I am placing in your heart. I am calling those who will listen to an intimacy with Me. Personal attention has been won for you at the cross of Jesus Christ. You have a covenant right to spend time with Me.

"It came at a high price, the blood of My Son. Don’t take this call lightly. It is for your eternal good. I will show you My heart. I will show you My will. I will prepare you for what lies ahead in your life. I will give you the wisdom, strength, and power to overcome everything that attempts to destroy you. Come close now. I am waiting.”

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.

Romans 2:4 NIV

Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

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 – which is your spiritual worship.

 

In the world, access to the heart of a friend is earned. It takes time to develop the trust and vulnerability that is required. True friends understand the privilege it is to have that kind of access and they guard it carefully.

Jesus has won access to His Father for us. When the temple veil was torn from top to bottom, it would never separate us from Him again. Access from the holy place into the holy of holies, once reserved only for the high priest once a year, is now available to all those who have given themselves over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

What is so incredibly sad is that few of us actually tarry with God, the Creator of all things, even though we are invited to do so. Think of it, we are invited into the presence of the One Who gave us life, knows our hearts, and desires to spend time with us. When we do not go to Him, is that pride, ignorance, fear, busyness, or a combination of them all?

Form in me whatever it takes to be able to come to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

Open post

8/05/22 The Bad Guys

As men, we are taught to hold on to our own safety and make sure no one takes our stuff. Some time ago, the Lord startled me while I was in one of those quiet-almost-sleepy-could-really-be-dozing kind of prayer times. His voice was quiet and full of love. He said, "I want you to know that I love your most aggressive enemies as much as I love you. There is no one on the face of this earth that I wish would perish. I want you to pray for all those who hate Me. In fact, I want you to pray for anyone who will hate My children. Pray that they will be able to share My love."

Then things got personally serious. "I want you to pray for those who will kill you. I don't mean that someone is going to do that, necessarily; but I want you to have the heart that would care about their salvation more than you care about your own life." By now, I was awake. Pray for someone who hated me enough to kill me! Love others - even the bad guys?

The Lord then reminded me of His actions on the cross. He had words of forgiveness for those who were spitting on Him and an attitude of great love for those who drove the nails in His hands. He told me to do the same with anyone who came against me. It was enough to remind me this life is not centered around my well-being. What a novel thought!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

Open post

8/04/22 The Times Ahead

“How much have you heeded My warnings to you? How much have you modified your lifestyle, realigned your priorities, and eliminated your excesses in response to the warnings given to prepare for the perilous times ahead? I am not asking you if you have made material provisions to “hunker down.” I am not asking if you have fortified your positions of comfort. Before you answer Me, I already know.

"Most of you have done little or nothing to prepare yourselves in a way that pleases Me in order for My purposes to be accomplished. Your world tells you to “go on as usual.” It tells you to not be afraid. It has no foundation for those boasts. It has never listened to Me and has no idea what I will be doing during the times ahead. I tell you to prepare for many changes. I am requiring significant modifications to your life if you want to flow with Me in the times ahead. Today, much has already happened in the heavenlies. It is only the beginning of a massive tide that will require uninterrupted communication between Us if you are to be prosperous during these seasons.

"You need to be able to hear only My directions. You will need to discard everything that stands in the way of Our fellowship. You must turn your priorities to My work, My plan, My purpose for your life. Invest radically in those who are being called out now to accomplish significant areas of duty. Invest radically in your time with Me. I have been calling you. You have not come. You have not changed even a small portion of your world to get in line with My call to you.

"All the time, everything is changing around you. You are like an ostrich with its head in the sand. Stop being foolish. Time is running out. Prepare My way. Use My provisions My way. Seek Me My way. It is the only way.”

Isaiah 30:21 NIV 

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

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.”

 

Have you ever attempted to communicate with someone who had no desire to hear what you had to say? No matter what you said, no matter how much you waved your hands or explained in detail what you meant, he stood - stone-brained – and just looked at you? After you walked away, did you feel that nothing you said or did had any effect on his actions or even his thinking in the slightest bit? I might as well have talked to a tree, you said.

I believe that is how most of us must appear to Father God at present. He has warned us of special times on the horizon. He has told us to prepare ourselves for the good of others and the implementation of His work. He has called us to an intimacy with Him, so that we are equipped to prosper in the times ahead. We have stood with glazed eyes and wandering minds, while He has expressed the importance of His words. Most of us have done little or nothing to heed His words. In fact, few have even acknowledged that He was speaking.

In the time of need, Jesus always did what was best for others. His life was spent for those who hated Him. If any of us have heard even a portion of what the Lord has been saying in these past years about preparation, we have taken His words and chosen to prepare only for ourselves, without even thinking of those Jesus cares about.

We need to respond to some difficult questions, like: What is your priority today? If the Lord called you to pray all day, this very day, and the next, and the next, would you do what is necessary to respond? Or isn’t that as important as your job?

Where is your treasure invested? How many workers are doing without because you are hoarding His wealth?

How will you respond to the fast-approaching tragedies?  Of whom will you think during a catastrophe - the one next to you, or only yourself? What would Jesus do?

Look around at today’s church. We haven’t heard! We haven’t moved! We haven’t responded to the many calls of our Lord! We do not know of what spirit we are!

Move this fool, Lord,

Jim Corbett

Open post

8/04/22 Easier to Do

As men, it’s easier to try to do something about all the brush fires we ignite with our spiritual ignorance than it is to become everything we’re called to be in Christ. Making something happen is far easier than waiting on God to direct our steps and completely oversee our lives, which allows us to avoid the many pitfalls the enemy has planned against our families.

Doing stuff to make things better in our own strength means we’ve unknowingly decided to make ourselves vulnerable to the traps set by the enemy against our families. It means we’ve reduced the outcome of our lives to the limitations of our own carnal thinking and insufficient power. It means we’ve offered the enemy an opportunity to attempt to override the plans God has for us and our families.  It means we’re in the world and of the world; and, therefore, incapable of winning any spiritual war waged against us. It means we’ve taken the well-traveled, easier road and chosen to walk in spiritual weakness.

On the other hand, becoming a true man of God and a mighty warrior means we’ve overcome and discarded the ways of the world. We’ve ceased to function in the realm of the enemy and have planted our flag in the kingdom of God by submitting to its guidelines in our lives. It means we’ve crucified the flesh, having gladly died to its demands and becoming fully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus over every area of our lives and the lives of our families. It means we’ve accepted God’s invitation into His throne room, which He can make our war room where nothing harmful prevails over us or those we love. Would you like to live there?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

Posts navigation

1 2 3 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 645 646 647
Scroll to top