Tag: Faith

“Since the days of Jesus, My kingdom has come upon the earth. What are you doing to further it? What kind of life are you living to proclaim Jesus and have My Word go forth? As Jesus sent His people forth two by two to that generation, I am sending you. I call you to heal the sick. You are to bring life to those who are dead. Do not worry about your life for it is hidden in Christ. I will provide for you. My hand is upon you. My heart is for you. My Holy Spirit is with you. Fear nothing for you are Mine.”

Matthew 11:12 NIV

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Luke 10:10-11a NIV

10) “But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into the streets and say,

11a) ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.’”

Luke 10:17-20 NIV

17) The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18) He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

19) I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

20) However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

 

When some of those, who had been sent to proclaim that the kingdom of God was manifesting in that generation, came back, they marveled at the power they had been given. Jesus had them refocus on the importance of who they were in Him, rather than on what they were able to do.

Each of us, who belong to Jesus, has the astounding privilege of furthering God’s kingdom in our generation. There is no more important task available to all of mankind. What we do for our Lord with a pure heart will testify of our love for Him during our lifetime.

As important as that is, who we have become is far more important than what we do. Have we taken up our cross, His cross? Have we given all that we are willingly, so that He can live His life through us? Have we exchanged our priorities to own His priorities in our hearts? Have we emptied ourselves of our own interests to take on His heart of love in all that we do?

Jesus lived, died, lived again, and then left so that His life, loves, and heart motives could be reproduced over and over again by the power of the Holy Spirit in each of us who call Him our Lord and Master. None of us, however, are called to give away what we do not own in our hearts. Those who are looking for the truth of God’s Word will not listen to those who talk of Jesus, yet do not reflect Him in their words and actions.

Make me like You and send me forth, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You are wise when you fully comprehend Who I am as God. It is the beginning of life for you. Until then, it is impossible for you to have what is needed to live the life of Jesus in your world. I am willing to show you deep truths from My heart. All you need to do is come to Me with an open heart. Humble yourself. Acknowledge that you do not have all the answers. Ask for truth.  Strive for intimacy. Make Our time together a priority in your life. I will show you Who I am. I will also reveal who you really are and how important your life is to Me. That is a good thing.”

Psalm 25:12-14 NIV 

12) Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13) He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14) The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.

Psalm 46:10 NIV

Be still, and know that I am God...

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

James 4: 8-10 AMP

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].

 

As you grow in Christ, you must learn to joyfully embrace a life of repentance. Delight in what God is doing in you as you are shown who you are not. Understand that you are still very welcome in His presence. You are a deeply loved work in progress. Submission to the changes the Lord is making in you develops your ability to present Jesus to the world, which is your heritage and God’s original plan for your life. He knows who you are and everything you are not. Real heart changes are needed in all of us and can only take place when spending quality time with Him to know His heart and looking to Him alone for all things.

Teach me about You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“For a long time now, I have called you to be like My Son, Jesus – to be complete in Me – but many of you have refused to listen.  You have chosen to remain in your sinful nature, denying My power to change you. You have a form of godliness, but you do not let Me complete the work that is necessary for you to show the world My Son, Jesus. Soon, My Holy Spirit will be moving in a direction that is new to those who haven’t chosen My ways. He will execute My bold judgments to make you bend to My ways, instead of allowing you to continue in your ways. There will no more be the kind of grace from Me that has allowed you to be less than I have determined for your life. The kind of grace that I will send will overpower your hardened heart.

"I advise you to buy gold from Me that has been refined in the fire, before I refine My gold in the fire of judgment, which is also designed to change you. Come to Me now. I am waiting.  Now is the time. This season is My final call - My bridal call. Do not turn from Me again, or My eyes of judgment will turn toward your life - for your good and for the glory of My Son, Jesus.”

Hosea 10:12 AMP

Sow for yourselves according to righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God); reap according to mercy and loving-kindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, to inquire for and of Him, and to require His favor, till He comes and teaches you righteousness and rains His righteous gift of salvation upon you.

II Tim. 3:1-5 AMP

1) But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear].

2) For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.

3) [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good.

4) [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God.

5) For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

Revelation 3:10 NIV

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

 

I remember when I was a teenager. (Boy! That was a long time ago!) My dad would observe some of my behavior and then take me aside to show me that if I continued on the path I was walking, there would be consequences to my actions. Sometimes he would even show me very clearly what those consequences might be, should I decide not to heed his warning.

Usually I would stand there, hear what he had to say; and then continue on my way, doing exactly what I had done before. As I look back, there must have been some kind of “stupid filter” in my brain that allowed only foolishness in and filtered out all wisdom.

Good stuff - like wisdom, understanding, thoughtfulness - seemed to be a foreign language to me. It was not so much that I didn’t want to think clearly; I just don’t remember thoughts of having any need to do so. Take the importance of driving carefully, for example. It just didn’t enter into the equation as soon as I heard the sound of my mufflers or thought of the three carburetors under the hood.

The thought of applying wisdom to any of my actions never entered my mind once I started the engine.  Logic and understanding were also nowhere to be found when I got in my car. I would probably have invited them to go with me as I drove; but somehow, I don’t remember them even being available. It was as though they were not part of my brain cell group.

Sitting on the front lawn on a Saturday night, staring at my impounded car over and over again, eventually eroded some of that “stupid filter.”  What a concept. If I would listen to my dad, things would go better in my life.

In our walk with the Lord, “stupid filters” are commonplace. We just call them little sins. God, however, sees the horrible ramifications of our indulgence. He knows the terrible difference between being with Him completely and never really seeing the need to sell out to His ways with all our hearts. Eventually, because of His great love for us, He must take Fatherly action to curb our foolishness. He knows that the consequences are too great for Him to leave us where we are.

Needing to heed what is being said by my Father,

Jim Corbett