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4/22/22 It’s Never Too Late

What if your life up to this point has been out of line? What if your family is so fractured that it doesn’t even resemble a Christian family? What if your marriage is nothing more than two people going through the motions? What if you’ve missed it in every aspect of your responsibility to oversee a life-giving, Jesus-serving, people-reaching family? What if your children are serving the world and want nothing to do with you or the Jesus you supposedly serve? What if your life holds little significance regarding the work of God through what you and your family have done?

Today the Lord would say to you, “So what!” What do any of those excuses have to do with the opportunity to change things around completely by the power of the Holy Spirit? All of the above are physical observations. They have nothing to do with what God can do if you, as the holder of God’s highest office, choose to repent of your failure to be a proper steward of your family and turn from your sin.

Look at what the Word reveals in James 4:7-10 AMP. So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. 8)Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. 9)[As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. 10)Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

So resist the devil by being subject to God. A significant life for you and your family in God’s eyes is only a heartfelt repentance away. As a steward, wouldn’t it be wise to start today? As you turn your heart in God’s direction, your family has a better chance to do the same.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/21/22 Our Covering

“I am with you! My presence will precede you. I will personally be your rear guard. I will build a hedge of protection to your right and to your left. Though your path may be strewn with challenges at times, I will make them straight as you turn to Me. Nothing shall harm you. I will guide you with My right hand. I will be your covering. You are called to do My will. Proceed with My plans. You cannot fail! I am with you!”

2 Chr. 16:9 NIV

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...”

Psalm 18:1-2 NIV

1) I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2) The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield…

Psalm 20:6-7 AMP

6) Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.

7) Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.

2 Cor. 2:14-16a NIV

14) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

15) For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

16a) To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

The life of Jesus was a stark contrast to the stagnant religion of the self-important, pompous, segregated, and aloof religious leaders of that day. Ordinary people were free to love Him because He loved them first, something never equated with things that were called “godly” up until that time.

Honest, longing people enthusiastically chased Him everywhere He went to hear more about and experience His kind of love. They chased Him until they themselves were caught up in the wonder of eternal life.

Have you ever wondered about the situations and conversations that Jesus had with His chosen twelve that were never chronicled? Have you ever thought about the jokes they played on each other, and the fun they must have had together? Remember, the guys that Jesus chose to be with were “from the street.” They were all very worldly and full of typical “guy stuff.”

It’s easy for you and me to forget that He was on a “God-designed” mission of love, His Father’s deep kind of love. He was fellowshipping firsthand for the first time in the wonder of those He had actually created.

When Jesus walked on the earth, God was physically present with His creation for the first time since the Garden of Eden. His “adventure” allowed Him to experience the joy of those He loved firsthand, while expressing His love to them, and at the same time birthing His Father’s kind of love in their hearts.

He may not have spoken a black ’57 Chevy convertible with fender skirts and a continental kit into existence for their entertainment or anything like that; but when He left their immediate presence, He sure had a bunch of devoted people to carry on His work. They were crazy in love with Him - crazy enough to enthusiastically set a passionate enough life course that would probably lead to their deaths.

After they understood the full impact of what they were called to do and were empowered by God to do it, they embraced their mission heartily. They chose an all-out, fully committed, enthusiastic denial of self, and embraced the life of the One who showed them what love really was. Their passion set the world on a course of change, just as yours could in this day. In fact, that is exactly what you have the privilege of doing.

The kind of adventure that the first century church embarked upon didn’t begin in them because the Lord simply preached good stuff, exhibited a sour countenance to hearty fishermen, or compromised His teachings while in private. They followed the example of a life worth following, a life worth dying for.

By Your power, Lord, help me to do the same,

Jim Corbett

4/21/22 Life or Death

As a husband and father, you have the choice of giving either life or death to those around you. Your office is designed for you to lead those you steward. Because it comes with astounding authority in the spiritual realm, the decisions you make and the way you live impacts others more than the physical eye can see. Your positive, biblical way of approaching all that you do brings life to others. It brings a spiritual order which allows them the freedom to flow in the life of Christ.

Take the time to observe families. Look at those that are in order, meaning those who flow in harmony with the Gospel. Watch the children of the family with a father who lives and loves as Christ does. Watch the wife of a man who has chosen to lay his life down for her. You will see lives being lived full of the wonder of the Holy Spirit at work in them. They walk in the life of Christ and give away life to others.

Now observe the family where the man is absent or not living the kind of life Jesus lived. By the world’s standards, they may outwardly appear somewhat in order; but spiritually, they are most likely dead. Their impact on those around them has no real life to it. Their spiritual fruit feeds no one. They can only share the death they themselves have been given.

Which kind of leader are you? Are you capable of giving the healthy life of Christ to your wife and children? Can they rely on you to be spiritually astute enough to cover their needs before God when necessary? Do they know that you are their spiritual covering in a dark world, so that they can venture into the deep things of God? Are you living the life of Christ before them so they know how to live it themselves? Because of the spiritual responsibility of your office, whether you know it or not and whether you want it or not, you are either giving away life or death to those God has given you to lead. Which do you choose?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/20/22 The Ultimate Choice

“The impossible is simple for Me. I spoke the universe into existence. My desire brought you to life. My plan through Jesus allows you to spend eternity with Me. I am God and there is no other. Because I gave everyone a free will, however, some choose to spend eternity separate from Me. I will do much to allow them to see truth, but they have the ultimate choice. Those of you who see and hear truth must tell them, so that they can make that choice to accept Jesus before it’s too late. It breaks My heart that anyone should perish.”

2 Samuel 14:14b NIV

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

It fascinates me how some people blame God whenever they get the chance if they have a rebellious heart. They accuse God of anything and everything from pollution to His creation of hell. Some even get angry at Him if He doesn’t do things their way. Many people will curse Him for living up to His Word when He tells them that because of the choices they made, choices contrary to His plan for salvation through Jesus, they can’t be with Him for eternity.

The answer to life is really quite simple and quite wonderful. There is a God. He really is God and we are not. We serve Him; He doesn’t have to serve us. He wishes that no one would be banned from His presence, so He has provided a way for everyone to be able to spend eternity with Him through Jesus. If we accept His way, we will be with Him. If we try to be accepted by Him by doing things any other way, we won’t. Submission to His ways leads to a joyous, abundant, fruitful life, and then, a glorious eternity in His presence.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

4/20/22 The Alignment of Nations

Anyone living near the biblical end of times will see all nations aligning toward a universal society, a one world government. This world will be controlled with an iron fist by a leader who will eventually establish himself as god. He will stand in the newly built temple in Jerusalem and proclaim to be the messiah of all mankind. Although he will think that his power and position are all his doing, he will be playing right into what Father God has proclaimed will happen from the beginning of time concerning the close of His days for this earth.

In order for that to happen, all the divisions that make individual nations autonomous must be eradicated. Before the world is under one government, there must soon come a time when each nation surrenders its borders and melds with other nations under some form of single authority. During that time of transition, there will be many fronts - some wanting individuality, others wanting to see the union come to pass. This will cause many wars and rumors of wars in far off places.

All a thinking man needs to do is read the news headlines of any paper anywhere, and see that the fulfillment of this plan is in action. When he sees all of these things begin to take place, he’s told to become a man that is dead to the world and alive only to the things of Christ. He’s to be a man who overcomes the world and its ways just like Jesus did. As a husband and father, he’s to seek the Lord for every direction needed to prepare his family for the season soon to be on the horizon.

What kind of man are you? What are your priorities as you see nations rising and falling - all forsaking God and looking for some kind of leader who will give them peace? How far is your head buried in the sand, hoping that what you realize is at your door will simply go away, so you won’t have to deal with it? How ready are you to face what is happening and bring glory to God by your actions and the actions of those you are responsible for? If you’re not ready, what do you think is your best course of action? Remaining where you are is sheer foolishness. What now?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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