Tag: Faith

“How have you responded when I have called you to do something for Me? Have you done what I asked you to do? Have you followed through with what I placed on your heart, no matter how hard the task might be? You should know that all of my requests are tests, so that you can see if I can trust you. I am asking you to be faithful with small amounts, so that I can trust you with much more.

"Do you see how important it is for Me to have people I can rely upon? As times become more difficult, those who have learned to follow my heart without question will not be distracted by the peril all around them. They will be obedient no matter what. Learn to be obedient to My heart now! Learn to follow through with what you are called to do, no matter how hard it is for you. There is much need! There is much to do! I desire to use you. Learn to live My way now. I will be able to use you in a greater capacity then.”

Matthew 25:14-30 NIV

14) "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.

15) To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

16) The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.

17) So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.

18) But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

19) "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.

20) The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

21) "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!'

22) "The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

23) "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!'

24) "Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

25) So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26) "His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

27) Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28) " ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.

29) For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

30) And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'”

 

Obedience to the heart of God is very difficult in the beginning. It takes a determination to decide to do things God’s way rather than our own. What is amazing, however, is the fact that the more we respond positively, the easier it gets. In fact, after responding to the Lord with many “yeses,” it becomes a wonderfully fulfilling lifestyle. We eventually cannot fathom living without doing His will and work. It becomes as important as food and water.

Become my food and water, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I desire that you comfort those who grieve. Stand with those who mourn. Be a friend to those in need.  You own My life-giving power. Invest it in those who need My presence in their lives when they are too weak to call upon Me themselves. I will be available to them because of you. When they have no strength to be strong themselves - when there is nothing left in them, when they have no power to come to Me on their own - you carry them to Me in prayer. You point them to My love and mercy. You help them bear the weight of the sorrow that is upon them.  Be a friend. Be their advocate as Jesus is yours.”

Exodus 17:12 AMP

But Moses’ hands were heavy and grew weary. So [the other men] took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

II Cor. 1:3-4 AMP

3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),

4) Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.”

 

Some time ago, I found out that my very good friends had lost both of their sons in an accident. Their loss was beyond my comprehension. Their grief was overwhelming.  When I talked to them, all I could do was cry with them and promise to hold them up in prayer. My heart broke for their loss. They not only needed the strength of the Lord, but they needed the strength of others to help them make it through that time. Everything else we do as Christians is hypocrisy if we do not walk with others through times like that, being strong for them when they are too weak to bear the weight of their grief. It is the priority of Jesus to be an advocate on their behalf. It is the way that our Father has called each of us to walk.

Live Your strength through me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“My mercy and grace flow abundantly toward you whenever you wound Me with your sin. You see, I know the danger you are in because of your separation from Me. Repent!  Turn from your sin. You do whatever it takes to come close to Me again as soon as you can and as often as you need to do so. When you need My forgiveness, it should be your priority to seek it. I promise to do My part and forgive you. Make sure that you do yours by coming to Me in repentance.”

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?

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 conscious clear before God and man.

I Th. 5:24 AMP 

Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].

 

I have sinned more since I met Jesus than I did before I gave my life to Him, because I now know what sin is. There were times in the past when I would fall at my Lord’s feet in hopeless despair, sick with my sin, only to find Him mercifully calling me to come to Him and rest. He would show me the cross, His Word, and His promise of forgiveness. Most of all, my God would show me His mercy and grace. He was and is so kind and so forgiving, that over the many years of continued offense and the responding continued forgiveness, my desire to separate myself from Him because of sin is far overshadowed by my desire to no longer offend Him - all because of His aggressive kindness toward me.

Thank You for Your extended mercy and grace, Lord,

Jim Corbett