Faith | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

2/16/21 Seize the Moment

Being a man who’s lost one of his children, I’m often reminded of the many wasted moments, wrong decisions, and times when other things appeared more important than devoting time to her. I look back and wish I had seized every opportunity to enjoy her, instead of placing other supposedly more important things ahead of her.

As husbands and fathers, we are truly blessed. We each have the honor of witnessing the lives of those God has given us. As we observe their days, it’s our privilege to share in the delights they experience and grieve with them when they’re in need of a shoulder to cry on. All investments in them add to the wonder of participating in the life God has given them.

At certain points in the din of everyday life, most of us lose the importance of time spent with those standing close to us. Instead of grasping every instant to appreciate those precious moments, challenges, decisions, needs, and schedules cloud the wonder of family life, sometimes to the point of being too late. How I wish I had redeemed the time! How I wish I had seized every opportunity I had to participate in my first daughter’s life! Today I determine in my heart to not make the same mistake with those who remain.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/15/21 Future Plans

“Forever is an extremely long time. We are going to have an unlimited number of times together. I have been patient, but My patience has served its purpose. All things are about to come into My planned order. Everything is unfolding as I have told you it would. Stand for just a little while longer. The refining fires must do their work. They are necessary to accomplish the foundations of future plans and other ordained movements. You may see these times as the end of the end times; I perceive them as the beginning of future eternities. Oh, We will have so much wonderful time together! Wait until you see what I have planned for you!”

Psalm 51:10 AMP

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering and steadfast spirit within me.

Isaiah 48:3 NIV

“I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.”

Most of us are so focused on our own little problems and our own personal worlds that we have forgotten how much more of real life there is. If I understand the Bible, we have eternities upon eternities to spend with the Lord. Our present life is simply a wisp of time compared to what is left.

What concerns me, however, is that those who do not pass the tests of these times - particularly the main one of accepting Jesus as their Savior so that they do have a bright future - are soon going to be in a world of hurt. Maybe we should get our eyes off ourselves and our own puny needs and begin to think about those who need to see Jesus before it’s too late. What do you think? Is that a “DUH,” or what?

Help me to focus on what is important to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

2/15/21 We Don’t Understand

As a man who understood so little for so long regarding the spiritual impact my actions had, all I can do now is fall before the Lord in repentance as He reveals them to me. Don’t get me wrong; I know I’m forgiven, and each day I’m reminded of the wonder of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus. Those truths give me the privilege of relying on Christ every day.

My point is: in observing the actions of the world and even the church, it’s painfully noticeable that few of us men understand the spiritual significance of our words and actions until they are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. As men, does it register, for example, that adultery in any form rips apart the spirit of those we sin against, including us? Do we understand that placing anything before our marriage and our children causes untold spiritual damage to the inner beings of those we steward? It rarely crosses our minds that our sons, and especially our daughters, can spend years attempting to fill gaping voids because of our careless words, thoughtless actions, or lack of involvement in their lives. Because it’s rarely seen for what it is, and the consequences of our foolishness add up little by little in most cases, it’s often too late to repair the damage without a powerful move of God once we realize what we’ve done.

It’s time for men to dig in with God and ask Him to show us the corresponding consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions - good and bad. It’s time to assess what’s happening in the spiritual realm when we move through our lives doing this and saying that, often unaware of the spiritual damage we do to those near us. God is always looking to restore families in both large and small ways.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

2/13/21 Take It to Heart

“Are you really learning the lessons I am teaching you? Are they being burned into your heart or do you just retain them in your mind for reference? You need to make what I teach you your private stock. You need to own them. Feed on them. Practice them at every turn in your life. Apply them in your relationships with others. Don’t waste one moment of My time with you. I will require that you deem Our times together worth your while. I will give you whatever time you need to grow if you consider it of value. If you don’t, I will find someone who will.”

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...”

Isaiah 42:25 AMP

Therefore He poured out upon [Israel] the fierceness of His anger and the strength of battle. And it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not [the lesson of repentance which the Assyrian conquest was intended to teach]; it burned him, but he did not lay it to heart.

Few of us realize how important it is to not waste God’s time. We need to understand that His purpose is to use those who choose to be used in His plans.

I am reminded of the television show “Welcome Back Kotter.” There was a character named Horshack who would jump up and down with his hand raised in the air in the back of the school classroom when he knew the answer. He enthusiastically wanted to be called upon.

As the Lord’s eyes go throughout the earth looking for those who want to serve Him, it would be wonderful for all of us to act that enthusiastically, wanting to be called upon by Him. That zeal would help us learn the lessons we’re being taught and use them wisely for His purposes.

Pick me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

2/13/21 Foolishness

In my teens, I had this car. It was relatively unremarkable, but I used it to show my bravado and came close to hurting myself due to my stupidity every time I got behind the wheel. I loved to look under the hood at its three carbs with chrome pots. Over the life of the car, I replaced two engines, three transmissions, and two rear ends. I burned through three sets of tires and the favor of several neighbors within a matter of a couple years. I can only look back on that period of my life and shake my head in wonder at the idiocy displayed in those days.

I guess that was the beginning of my pattern of foolishness before the Lord got hold of my heart and showed me its real value. Looking back, there are so many things I would’ve done differently if only I’d known better. Country singer Roy Clark recorded a song called “Yesterday When I Was Young.” In it, he laments over his foolish approach to life. Boy, I can identify with that song!

In the song, however, the singer unfortunately has no answers and no forgiveness. I’m so grateful that I do in Jesus. My Lord erased my past with its hopeless future and designed a new bright plan for my life. His love has built a hedge around me to protect me from my own foolishness. His power is available to me whenever I begin to travel blindly through the gears of my life. I praise Him for it! So does my family!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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