Tag: From Our Father’s Heart

“You ask Me to provide for the means to pad your comfort areas. I am willing to do that. You present petitions for Me to prosper you and then you will not even move from your comfort areas to provide for those who are doing My work if I do. I am still willing to answer your requests in the hope that someday you will wake up and realize that I have prospered you so that they can have what is needed. You ask Me to understand that you have reasons to hate someone who has wronged you or cheated you. I am patient with you until you change. You have difficulty forgiving those who have been unjust to you or spoken behind your back.

"I am patient while you come to repentance. There is something you must know. In My world, I am receiving your petitions at the same time that petitions are coming from those in prison cells who request mercy for the jailers who beat them every day. I am being asked for forgiveness for someone who has destroyed the petitioner’s life and family. Cries for the souls of those who are about to kill the petitioner are often received at the same time that you are asking Me to come against your fellow worker because he or she gossiped about you. Maybe your perspective is in need of adjustment!”

 Proverbs 29:21 AMP

He who pampers his servant from childhood will have him expecting the rights of a son afterward.

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

 

Jesus left a royal position in heaven to be ridiculed, spat upon, and crucified. He gave up all His wealth, His rights, and His will, so that the will of His Father would be done. He owned nothing and gave everything, so that those who cursed Him and crucified Him might be forgiven for their sins against Him.

Giants of the faith throughout the centuries lived for the best interests of others. Testimony after testimony of fallen people of real faith reveal the same heart of Jesus as they laid their lives down so that others might prosper and the Lord might be glorified, even in the most horrific situations. To deny the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the slightest way was unthinkable to those who lived only for the glory of their Lord. Faced with torture, unbelievable conditions, and unthinkable forms of slow death, they lived and died so that the life of their Savior might be made visible to observers who needed His mercy.

The Proverbs verse above shows an attitude of one who is owned by a master but has forgotten his position because of the master’s grace and mercy toward him. He has become proud in his position, rather than grateful for it; very much like those of us who have come to the mistaken belief that we really own what we have been given and demand more when we have the slightest need. We have become a church that is proud of our magnanimous heart when we toss crumbs to others from our positions of safety and comfort.

Take me from selfish to selfless, Lord,

Jim Corbett

 

“It is good to reflect on days that have passed. You can see who you really have become by referring back to the things that you have held valuable and those things that no longer take priority in your life. Reflection affords you the opportunity to rejoice in who you are becoming in Me and repent of who you are not. These insights are necessary for your growth. I would like you to remember that this new day affords you hope, mainly because I am with you. I love you. Whatever you are, I am delighted in your progress. Whatever you are not, We can change together.”

Genesis 1:31 AMP

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely….

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 111:2 NIV

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

 

It is so comforting to know that our Lord is always with us, no matter how we feel about ourselves. Because He always works from truth, He is not swayed by flowery displays and hopeful promises. He sees through every action and observes our heart motives. We can be honest with Him because there is nothing hidden from Him. He knew how many times we would fail Him and He still invited us to be with Him for eternity.

It is wonderful that He is a God of many, many chances and One Who has our best interests at heart. There is no question that He is the Righteous Judge; however, He is also a loving Father Who is deeply involved in our lives and encourages us to greatness.

 Thank You for Who You are, Lord,

Jim Corbett

 

“You need a vision. You need to either seek Me to gain My purpose for your life, or until you find out what that is, you should join with someone who is heading in My direction for his or her life. There is never a time for My children to be doing nothing to further My kingdom. Even if I call you to prayer, pray for someone on the cutting edge of My work. If you will not totally dedicate yourself to finding My purpose for your life, support those who are doing My work. So many of you are consumed with fulfilling your own needs that you forget about My needs. First and foremost, spend quality time with Me. Then do something that I care about or help those who are doing so.”

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

Matthew 16:24-25 AMP

24) Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

25) For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

Luke 6:45-46 AMP

45) The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.

46) Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?

 

A while back, I realized that the only real purpose for any of us to be here is to gain, maintain, and function in and through a relationship with our Father in heaven; and then find His will for our lives. Anything else is fleeting and more than likely of no eternal consequence. I also understood how serious our accountability is for the days He has given us. We will answer for them.

Everybody can do something. A cup of cold water is simple to give. A kind word costs nothing. A sincere prayer never wastes time. The next time you are doing something for yourself, compare it to how much you are doing for the Lord. The next time you are spending His money on yourself - I don’t mean the necessities or survival money, but self-consuming money - compare it to how much you really are supporting His work. This is real stuff, this relationship with God stuff. How seriously are you taking it?

Make me really serious about fulfilling Your needs and Your desires, Lord,

Jim Corbett

 

“Reflect on the things that I have been telling you over the past years. Become sensitive once again to the times and seasons in which you live. Do not allow your daily routine to desensitize you to what I am doing in the heavenlies. You must keep yourself available to Me. I may need you at an instant’s notice, so do not become spiritually sluggish. Your training will not be in vain. Many across the land have been trained over the years to be ready to move when I call them. You are one of them. Be alert.

"Do not sleep just because I seem to tarry. I am faithful to My promises. Others may not be able to hear My voice and move at My desire, but I have had you in training to do so. When I call, I am confident that you will answer. Be ready.”

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.”

Isaiah 66:9 AMP

Shall I bring to the [moment of] birth and not cause to bring forth? says the Lord. Shall I Who causes to bring forth shut the womb? says your God.

 

Upon observing the first century church, it seems that the Lord kept them in a constant state of preparedness. They believed that the Lord was returning for them momentarily. I picture them doing their daily tasks having one eye to the sky, looking for Jesus to come for them. Even though the Lord didn’t return in their generation, that continuous state of awareness made them available for use by the Lord. Their hearts were ready.

We Christians, in our humanness, have a tendency to doze off spiritually if the Lord doesn’t move in our time frames. We also have been known to interpret, or misinterpret, God’s reasons for doing things. Often, we receive a specific word, whether personally or over time as part of the body of Christ and place our own idea on the time and place of the fulfillment of that Word, which leaves much room for discouragement and heartbreak when the Lord doesn’t follow our plans.

For some time now, the Lord has been wooing His people to a closeness with Him. He has been asking us to truly separate ourselves from the trappings of the world and strive to become a true representative of Jesus. Many believe that this recent call is bridal preparation, awaiting the soon coming of Jesus.

Whether that is true or not (I believe that it is) has little to do with the importance of our being obedient to the call. Our portion as followers of Jesus is to obey whatever the Lord chooses to do, simply because it is right. We must never allow ourselves to be swayed from continually pressing in, or tire of the preparation for which He is asking, no matter what daily circumstances might bring or the length of time it takes between the call and the fulfillment. The reason for this move or any move of God and the time of its completion are rightfully in His hands, not ours.

Putting it all aside simply because You asked me to do so,

Jim Corbett

 

“Why do you not use what I have placed in your hand until I move in the direction for which you have been praying? You are waiting for Me to give you clear direction; that is good. That is what I have formed you to do. In the meantime, there is much you can do to proclaim My Word, minister to people; and simply love those who need to see the love of Jesus. I have called you to occupy. You miss so much by not imparting the life that I have given you. Tarry with Me for your specific instructions; but while you wait, walk through the smaller doors that I provide for you. Meet the needs of those around you. Others need to see who you are in Me.”

John 4:34 NIV

”My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

John 6:57 AMP

Just as the living Father sent Me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on Me [whoever takes Me for his food and is nourished by Me] shall [in his turn] live through and because of Me.

Romans 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

So often we misunderstand the way the Lord wants us to occupy. We confuse waiting for specific directions on a certain matter with the commands we have been given that will never change. We have been commanded to love. We are told to proclaim the Gospel. Every day, we are to live to meet the needs of others with the means we have so far been given. These are part of our life in Christ.

Often, the Lord uses these general instructions to lead us to the specific task for which we have been created. While you are waiting for the Lord to unfold His plan or provide the resources needed to accomplish your specific ministry, you are called to do two things - spend time with Him and present Jesus to others with your actions. These are always the same.

Show me the difference between waiting for You and occupying, Lord,

Jim Corbett