Tag: From Our Father’s Heart

“Have you noticed how hard the hearts of the world have become? Have you noticed the absence of joy wherever you go? Have you sensed the uncertainty in the air? People are losing their bearings. Those who are not drawing close to Me are finding few places of rest.

“As your earth reels as if in the pangs of childbirth, safety can no longer be found in familiar strongholds. As those who choose to strike terror in the hearts of others become multiplied, hearts are beginning to fail from fear. As your world becomes disjointed, there will be many who become wide-eyed and fearful. Handholds will become slippery. Typical footing is becoming unstable. Jesus, however, remains constant. Jesus remains Lord.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 

5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

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?

Isaiah 8:11-14a AMP 

11) For the Lord spoke thus to me with His strong hand [upon me], and warned and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

12) Do not call conspiracy [or hard, or holy] all that this people will call conspiracy [or hard, or holy]; neither be in fear of what they fear, nor [make others afraid and] in dread.

13) The Lord of hosts – regard Him as holy and honor His holy name [by regarding Him as your only hope of safety], and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread [lest you offend Him by your fear of man and distrust of Him].

14a) And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him;

           

During extremely challenging times, things that were once held in high esteem become replaced by necessities. Once important appointments fall as dim memories. Things that a person thought he or she could never do without fade as foolish comforts. Sad to say, in most cases, personal survival supersedes any eternal work for the good of others; unless, of course, priorities have been established long before the hardship presents itself.

When peril comes, most of those who call themselves Christians will “hunker down” in an attempt to be safe; but they’ll be powerless to protect themselves. In a time when the Jesus they have said that they serve is needed most, they will not know how to call on Him or even know who He really is. Therefore, they will hide in fear, thinking that they will find a place of safety. Wherever they go, however, it will be a tomb for them spiritually speaking.

The only place of safety is to be solely and completely locked up in Jesus Christ, living His passionate life. In times of peril, His overcoming presence will not be with the cowering masses. He will be displayed in all of His radiant glory through those who take the time this very day, perhaps this very moment, to surrender fully to Him and His ways. He will be with those who use their every breath of life for His benefit and the benefit of those who need to see Jesus.

Prepare my heart now so that I will be of value to You when You call on me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Few of My children really remember who they are when they are in need. If they did, they would never be in fear, never turn to the world’s systems; and never use their own resources to overcome challenges that come their way. I am, however, raising you up as an honorable representation of My Word. I am refining and perfecting you to look nothing like those around you and care nothing for the empty and shallow promises the world has to offer.

“You, My lovely mirrors of Jesus, will have borne the brunt of scorn and ridicule, received the scars of chastisement and rejection; and labored under the weight of judgment from your peers before you come home to Me. You will have learned to find solace only from Me as you toil in the gardens of those who either refuse to or are unable to toil for themselves. You will be familiar with the pains of the wounded, the fears of the children, and the savage treatment of the martyr because of your heart of integrity that weeps for the needy.

“Walking the road of life alone except for My presence, your most familiar direction will be towards Me as you carry afflictions on behalf of those too weak and frail to carry them for themselves. You may not be pretty by the world’s standards but in My eyes, you are a wonder to behold. I call you beautiful. I call you glorious. I call you Mine.”

John 26:33 AMP

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

2 Cor. 2:14-16a AMP

14) But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.

15) For we are the sweet fragrances of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:

16a) To the latter it is an aroma [wafted] from death to death [a fatal odor, the smell of doom]; to the former it is an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh].

Gal. 4:19a NIV

My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…

 

In every generation throughout history, there has always been a small core group that followed hard after God. Most of their names are unrecognizable by the world. Few of them have done anything of note to be remembered in history books or the chronicles of nations.

The patterns of their lives run in a different direction than the well-worn path toward success, heading 90 degrees from notoriety and 180 degrees from sin. In some circles, they are called foolish, ridiculous, and stupid, having no earthly good. In God’s circles, they are called holy and esteemed as a prepared bride.

You and I would do well to study the life patterns of those people who have patterned themselves after Jesus. We would do well to find the kind of moxie that it takes to set aside all of our longings for comfort and wake up to the fact that Jesus doesn’t reside there. He never has and He never will. He will never be found with the weak but pretty church, the heralded entrepreneur, or the highly praised world system. He will be found working with the hopeless and needy, the broken failure, the desperate, and those with no real answers for their lives, telling them of a better way.

Jesus is our example of living. His life has been birthed in each of us who have called out to Him. His heart is our guiding light to success as God sees success. What will never be found in the world will easily be found in the quiet embrace of His love.

Help me follow only You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You’ve sought wise counsel, you’ve waited for My heart, you’ve made your decision - now stand. Wait for My plan to unfold in your trial. Rest in Me. There is nothing that you can do but get in the way of My perfect plan if you keep trying to control your situation. Move when I tell you to move. Rest when I call you to Me. Trust those I have sent your way to help you. I will work through them. You come to Me. You spend the time with Me while I win the battle for you. No matter how dark it may look from your perspective, your time with Me will reveal My perspective to you. Take this time to really know My heart. One day, you will see how I have delivered you.”

II Chr. 20:15b AMP

The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Phil. 4:1 AMP

THEREFORE, My brethren, whom I love and yearn to see, my delight and crown (wreath of victory), thus stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

Hebrews 13:5b AMP

…for He (God) Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)!  [Assuredly not!]

Rev. 3:19 AMP

Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

 

The refining fires of the Lord have begun in earnest for the remnant believer. I am convinced that they will get hotter and hotter to remove everything from us that does not serve the Lord. If you are going through times that are requiring you to need the Lord as much as you ever have, or maybe as never before, you are in company with many, many people all across the land. Everywhere, good, honest believers - those who have committed everything to the Lord - have been placed in positions they cannot control. They need God! Merry and I often hear the phrase, “If God doesn’t deliver me, I am not going to make it.”

Take heart. God is getting any desire for the world and all of its trappings out of you and me. Temptations that once could have allowed compromise in our hearts are being burned from us. False idols are being shown for their worthlessness. Angels of light are falling under the intense light of the Holy Spirit and are being exposed for who they really are. Fair weather friends are being revealed. We are being taken back to first love. The fire must burn away all of those things that have hidden the truth of the cross from us for so long. It is a much-needed work. Embrace it and hunker down with the Lord. He is in this with you.

I need You now, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Storm clouds are gathering, and you are not ready. You go about your business as if things will remain comfortable for you forever. They will not! You will need to be stronger in Me than you are. I will need to call upon you in times when only My Word will make sense. Blind obedience to Me will be your only place of safety. Most of you are planning for a war in the flesh. I want you to plan for intimacy. I want you to plan for a wedding with My Son. Then the same heart that took Him to the cross will be in you. I will be able to trust you. I will be able to use you. You will be ready for anything, even a wedding.”

Gal.2:20 AMP

I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Phil.2:12b-13 AMP

12b) …work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

13) [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight.

Hebrews 10:14 NIV

because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

 

We are so short-sighted that we separate God’s way as if He had many agendas. He has one plan - that none should perish. If we follow that, we will pursue His heart. If we pursue His heart, we will gain the heart of Jesus. If we gain the heart of Jesus, He will be able to use us in His plans. We also will be ready for Jesus when He comes. We will be looking for Him and looking like Him.

The Holy Spirit is wooing the church of Jesus Christ to prepare as a bride would prepare for a coming wedding of hearts. Through trials, tribulations, and extreme challenges, He is posturing each of us to get our priorities straight.

By leading us to the end of ourselves and placing a new hope in those who will listen, He is calling us to set aside all of the ways of the world and embrace the ways of Jesus as our only reason for living. In doing so, we will be prepared for His coming and able to overcome the hazards that are soon to come our way.

Help me to remember Your priorities, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you really understand that when I say that My ways are far above your ways, it is for your good? When you function in the ways that you understand as powerful, you are on your enemies’ turf, and you can never win. That is why the world is losing. It thinks that it is powerful, but it has already been defeated just like its father has.

“I am your Father. Jesus is your Lord. My Holy Spirit moves in absolute truth. We function in eternal truth. Our ways win. Why do you continue to function in lower ways than Ours? Move from the carnal into the spiritual. That is where you are being trained to function. That is where you will win forever from now on, if you submit to My ways. They are high above your ways.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

9) “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

John 8:42-47 NIV

42) Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own: but he sent me.

43) Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.

44) You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45) Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!

46) Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?

47) He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

 

Satan loves to keep us functioning on his terms and in his ways. Our loving Father, on the other hand, has rescued us from that hopeless fate through Jesus. Jesus has overcome the world and has provided a way for us to rise above all that is untrue because of what he has done.

Why, then, are we so block-headed? What is it that we don’t understand about the truth that says we no longer need to function where we always lose and have no hope of ever winning? God has provided a better way. You would think we would get it! Duh!

Help me to really get it, Lord,

Jim Corbett