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11/06/21 The Generation Gap

From The Father Factor by Jim and Merry Corbett

Did you know that in God’s eyes there is no such thing as a generation gap? That whole concept is nothing more than spiritually ignorant, psycho-babble hogwash. Spiritually alive parents who have chosen to invest in their children, considering them more important than themselves and spiritually alive children, who have chosen to invest in the family by the power of the Holy Spirit, have no time to buy into that ridiculousness. The generation gap concept was created by spiritually impotent people, who attempted to incorporate their impotence into guiding and directing their offspring. It is nothing more than a way to excuse their inability to lead their children as they continue to walk in their own ways and thinking. What they really need to do is submit to God through Jesus Christ so that the life of Christ can flow in them through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s wisdom, strength, love, etc. that we need – not ours. Ours will not truly get the job done. Of course, each generation has its own tastes and preferences; but communication, understanding, mutual love and respect, discernment, and prayer overcome any differences and allow generations to flow together with peace and harmony.

Raising godly children requires a lifetime of investing in them, most of the time in ways that violate our personal comfort zones. It is going to take a lot of surrender of our own ways to the Lord, a lot of prayer, a lot of selfless choices, placing their well-being above our comfort; and a lot of heart work. Yes, heart work. However, the eventual satisfaction and rewards of seeing a child being formed by God and the character of Jesus going forth through our children more than compensates for whatever price we may have to pay.

Godly children, who eventually become godly adults, are the goal and heart desire of Father God for both marriage and family. His standards are higher than the world’s standards and most of the standards in the typical church of today. He is after the heart of our children, not their compliance. His methods raise the bar in comparison with “normal” child rearing.

[While education is vitally important and must be part of any child’s growth process, which child lives a more significant life – one who has all the degrees in the world, a successful business, and a mediocre life in Christ; or one who has the priorities of God as his priority, dedicating himself to bringing others to significance while having few of the successes of the world?]

Investing in our children God’s way creates generations of strong, healthy children, who are full of integrity and inner wealth and capable of not only overcoming any of the challenges that come their way, but actually prospering because of them. Raising children God’s way brings proper credit to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and a testimony of His eternal work.

Knowing this, each of us has a choice to make at some point in our lives. This moment may be that time for you. You can approach child rearing with an attitude that your children are the ones who need to conform to His ways on their own, or you can settle it in your heart, once and for all time, that who you are and who you become in Christ is a major factor in determining who they will become.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/05/21 For His Use Alone

“How much of what you do has eternal consequence? Compare that with the carnal effects of your actions. My time frame for life as you know it is coming to a close. I am about to put into effect plans that will modify most of the handles that people use to bolster their lives. Things will soon change and few will know how to react.

"You need to consider your lives available for My use alone. I need to train you for the coming times. I need all of your heart, so that you have answers when others don’t. Surrender fully to Me. Make Me your priority for living. I will show you the heart of Jesus. I will show you how to prosper when the world reels in confusion.”

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.

Isaiah 2:22 AMP

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

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.”

It is so easy to forget why we are on this earth. The distractions of the world and everyday living take our eyes from our real purpose for having breath in our body.

Here is what I believe the Word says about our lifespan in very simple terms. I believe that each of us is born to make a choice as to who we will serve for eternity. Either we choose Jesus or we remain separated from Him forever.

After we choose Jesus, we are to develop in the intimacy that our Father God has provided for us. That intimacy will produce the character of Christ in us. We are to then present the life of Jesus - which has been developed within us - to others, so that they have the opportunity to make the same choice we did. Everything we do, as we function from day to day, either furthers that goal or hinders it.

Help me show them You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

11/05/21 Ask for Help

Being the steward of a Christ-like family is an impossible task. Husbands and fathers, who think they can oversee that kind of family in their own strength, are fooling themselves. Without God’s help and the prayers of others, a mediocre marriage and children who don’t really serve the Lord will more than likely be the result. How can we be content to present that to God one day?

If you care little whether or not your marriage is an example of the relationship between Christ and His church or whether or not your children live significant lives before the Lord, then you can remain a blissful blind guide. You’ll be teaching your family - and many future generations if they follow your lead – to settle for far less than God intends. Why would we do that to those we love?

If, however, you want a marriage and family that pleases God and represents Him properly, then begin by asking Him for help at every opportunity. Make a life of prayer your home base so you’ll have the wisdom, guidance, and power to war against the plots of the enemy. Call upon your family to pray for you, too. Share with your wife and children the responsibilities of your offices of husband and father, and that you understand how much you need the power of the Holy Spirit to fulfill them for your family’s good. Make them an integral part of family prayer. Without violating any trusts within your family, call upon one or two trustworthy friends to hold you accountable. Get to work. There is much that needs to be done!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/04/21 With Him

“Fellowship with Me should be your priority in life. It is where all your other comings and goings should originate. When they originate from circumstances, traditions, and emotions, you will find yourselves seeking Me for help to deliver you from wrong and harmful situations. You will need to seek Me then, so why do you not choose to seek Me first and avoid unwanted difficulties?

"There is great purpose in My desire to have you spend time with Me. Most of it has become obvious to you over the years, but some of it is only evident as I reveal it to you. The obvious is My desire to simply be with you. You have been created, and then redeemed, so that can happen. It is the reason that Jesus gave His life. For you to not honor that act would be a travesty.

"Not so obvious - or at least not quite as evident - is the fact that by being with Me, I take you out of harm’s way. Our fellowship allows you to avoid not only the pitfalls that will not occur while We are together, but also those that you will avoid because of the wisdom I impart to you. You benefit from Our fellowship more than you know. You can’t see what didn’t happen—those instances that didn’t occur because We avoided them together. That may seem simplistic, but it is eternal wisdom.

"Before We came together because of Jesus, what was your life like? How did you fare? What controlled you, and where did it take you? You eventually saw the need to turn to Me, didn’t you? Now that you have the ability to let Me direct your steps, wouldn’t it be wise to make Our times together your priority? I would think so. I have planned it that way.”

Haggai 1:3-10 AMP

3) Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

4) Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house [of the Lord] lies in ruins?

5) Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways and set your mind on what has come to you.

6) You have sown much, but you have reaped little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages has earned them to put them in a bag with holes in it.

7) Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways (your previous and present conduct) and how you have fared.

8) Go up to the hill country and bring lumber and rebuild [My] house, and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, says the Lord [by accepting it as done for My glory and by displaying My glory in it].

9) You looked for much [harvest], and behold, it came to little; and even when you brought that home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because of My house, which lies waste while you yourselves run each man to his own house [eager to build and adorn it].

10) Therefore the heavens above you [for your sake] withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its produce.

I have often observed the youth who have met the Lord and follow Him closely and compared them to those who are in the world. There is a difference between darkness and light.

Those, who do not have the privilege of knowing the Lord, follow their flesh from folly to folly, as a bull being led to slaughter. There is no hope to reach them other than by the power of the Holy Spirit because of the immense clutter that life piles upon them day after day. Real direction and purpose elude them. Any counsel is sought through worldly sources and help is temporal at best.

On the other hand, people, who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives, have access to God’s wisdom, and it is incredibly evident. The path of their lives is much straighter. Their purpose is continually unfolding before them, and the normal destructive pitfalls of life are often avoided. They visibly exude the character of Jesus and the strength of the wisdom of God. Surrounded by those with valuable resources because of their relationship with Jesus, there is hope for proper guidance throughout their lives.

Not only do we have the supreme honor of our Lord’s presence, each of us has an open door to the Creator of the universe for encouragement, wisdom, and guidance for our daily lives— and then for eternal freedom. How foolish of us if we do not take every advantage of the incredible gift we have been given!

Needing to understand fully the gift I’ve been given,

Jim Corbett

11/04/21 Your Table

A family, known in their community as compassionless due to their uncaring attitude for everything other than satisfying their own needs, sat down for their evening meal. One table - adorned with a fine linen tablecloth and exquisite china - was set for the parents and their children. A second table for the grandparents was off to the side, set with a vinyl tablecloth and unbreakable plates and cups because they had grown feeble. Their shaking hands and poor eyesight had caused just too many spills and broken dishes for the family to trust them at the other table.

One day the young daughter of the family was playing house. She had a second table set up with her dishes and cups. Her mother entered the room and asked why she had the extra table. The daughter responded, “Oh, that’s for you and Daddy when you get old.”

Compassion is one of the characteristics of Jesus. He cared for others more than He cared for His own life. Families with little or no compassion for the plight of others are relatively useless in a society. Taking and rarely giving, while teaching their children to do likewise, they exhibit their unChrist-like attitude wherever they go. Imagine the ripple effect.

As a father, you have an astounding opportunity to add wealth wherever you and your family live, if you understand God’s plan for you. When you invest the wealth of Jesus in your children, not only do you give them the opportunity to lead honorable, significant lives before the Father; they also gain the ability to affect their immediate surroundings with that same immeasurable wealth and much needed compassion.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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