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4/11/22 The Underbelly

One of the most vulnerable spots of any animal is the underbelly or underside of its body. In most cases, it consists of soft tissue with little armor for protection. Knowing that, most any foe can do life-threatening damage once the underbelly is exposed.

In the intimacy of a marriage, all faults, traits, fears, and vulnerabilities are exposed to husband and wife. In a very real sense, the underbelly or weakest areas of who they are become known to each other. Unwise stewardship of that knowledge can be deadly in the truest sense of the word.

As a husband, you have the privilege of knowing who your wife really is behind all the masks and protections put in place over the years. You get to see all her fears and weaknesses. On the other hand, she gets to see who you really are. If either of you makes that knowledge available to anyone else, even a best friend, you have violated the trust of your mate and closed down a very important part of your stewardship of each other.

If this trust is violated, walls of protection go up and true intimacy becomes impossible from that point forward. The offended mate hides his or her vulnerabilities for protection, and the offender loses the privilege of holding his or her mate before God in prayer for healing. Wise husbands and wives never allow anyone to see the underbelly of their mate. They seal their marriage; and unless it is mutually decided to seek outside help in certain instances, they seal their lips from any outside influence, so that the Lord alone is their healer as they present those needs to Him.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/09/22 The End

“When will you come to the end of yourself, so that Jesus can be Lord of your life? What areas are still under your control? When We talk on that final day, how important will it have been to have controlled what was not given over to Him?

"You need to submit fully to His Lordship. Get your hands off of what owns you. Your submission will bring the freedom for which you have been looking. More importantly, you will then be walking in the obedience that I require.”

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.”

So many of us really need to reexamine what God means by Lordship. Our social freedoms have trained us to strive to have our own way to the point that we often apply them to our relationship with Jesus. That is a big mistake. I wonder how much we really are doing in our own wisdom, strength, and abilities and calling them “God” things. How much of our lives are really under the Lordship of Jesus?

Help me submit fully, Lord,

Jim Corbett

4/09/22 In His Hands

Although Father God has given us a stewardship of our wife and children, He asks us to turn them over to Him for their safe keeping. He is ultimately responsible for their best interests. We are responsible to give them and their needs to Him.

Foolish stewards look to their own strength and wisdom to protect and guide their charges. They personally take on their responsibility, instead of placing everything in God’s hands. Wise stewards, knowing that they are, in themselves, incapable of taking care of the needs of their marriage and family, give everything over to God.

Think for a moment of that exchange. Attempting to navigate the perils of this life with our weak, limited capabilities, or giving those perils over to an almighty God, capable of providing everything we need. Which is true wisdom? It’s really a no brainer. Why then do we attempt the first option almost every day of our lives?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/08/22 Every Moment Counts

“Redeem the time that I give you. You have no idea how long this present season may last. If you are in a refiner’s fire, press in to what I am doing, so that I may receive a completed work from you. If you are in a waiting period, wait with Me. Rest with Me. I cherish Our time together. If it is a time of expanding your tent pegs, be diligent and cautious to hear My words and My direction. If your waiting season is over and I am asking you to move in faith with Me, trust Me to be with you each step of the way.

"Every moment you are allotted is a precious moment to Me. Each one is valuable because every one of them is designed to form you into who I am making you. You are My personal project! I am not only accomplishing much through you, I am accomplishing much more in you.

"Make every moment I give you count. Waste none of them. They may seem as if they pass quickly and are gone, but each is important to your eternity.”

Psalm 106:12-15 AMP

12) Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise.

13) But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them,

14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

15) And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death.

Living moment by moment with God is one of the highest honors any one of us has been given. Most of us, however, are so busy anticipating the next moment that we don’t enjoy the one we are in. God has designed every moment of our lives for our benefit. Every one of them adds to who we are becoming, so each and every one of them has an eternal impact.

When was the last time you really rested in the present moment with God? When was the last time you savored the situation you were in, even a challenging one, knowing that God was using it to build you into being more like Jesus? When was the last time you were satisfied to wait until the Lord moved on your behalf, instead of trying to push against the goad of your situation in an attempt to make things happen? Maybe it’s time to repent of all the moments you’ve wasted. Maybe it’s time to begin to learn how to cherish your present and future moments with God.

Teach me to see what is important to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

4/08/22 Hold Nothing, Have Everything

The world chases after possessions. They’re some of the gods we serve, whether we know it or not. Most of us men go to work to gain possessions of some sort, whether it’s bigger houses, cars, clothes - anything we need more than we need intimacy with God.

Some possessions are necessities; others are the enemy’s way of keeping us distracted and so busy that we have little time for God. An example of that would be you and your wife working harder or longer to afford the mortgage payment on a bigger house.

God’s priority is an intimate relationship with Him. Anything that minimizes or distracts from that relationship is out of His will. It is not of Him and should either be eliminated or minimized to its proper place in God’s eyes. If we hold on to anything – money, fame, material wealth, status, etc. - we lose more than we know. If we let go in our hearts of whatever it is that distracts us, we will gain the fullness of God. That fullness is everything. Holding on to nothing of this world in our hearts allows us to grasp the wonder of Who God really is and what He has done. That is true wealth! Are you ready to let go?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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