Tag: From Our Father’s Heart

“I want you to walk through each and every door that I open for you with wondrous anticipation and careful communication with Me. Allow Me to unfold all that I have for you while you are being obedient. Examine each step to see if it is part of the plan that I have for you. Many of My children make the mistake of seeing an open door and running through it only to find that they have missed some of the markers along the way. They then run headlong into trouble and confusion by not waiting for Me to plan their steps. Walking with Me through an opportunity is a process. There are times to move and there are times to wait for things to be put in place. Often there are times when I tell you to wait for a while before your next step.

"In these times, I want you to have patience. Listen for clear directions. Wait for Me to light the way. Above all, rest in My arms. You see, I am not as concerned about where you are going as I am about how close We walk together as you are getting there. I want you to be so consumed with Our relationship on the journey that when We arrive at any destination, We are closer friends than when We began. The journey together is important to Me. What We communicate and deal with on the way delights My heart and prepares you for your task.”

Ps. 37:23-24 NIV

23) The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm;

24) though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

Ps.119:133 AMP

Establish my steps and direct them by [means of] Your word; let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Pr. 16:9 NIV

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

I Pe. 2:21 AMP

For even to this were you called [it is inseparable from your vocation]. For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you [His personal] example, so that you should follow in His footsteps.

 

Because we walk with God, it does not mean that every step we take leads us to safety. There are times that we walk in obedience to Him, only to find great hardship along the way. In these times, it is easy to feel like we have missed His perfect will, especially when everyone around us is more than willing to confirm our suspicions and doubt. That is why it is most important to keep in constant communion with our Lord on any journey.

God often leads those He loves to hard places that force us to intimate communion with Him. In fact, often the communion with Him is the object of the journey that He has sent us on. That is the opposite of everything that we have been taught.

Our expectation is that if we follow God, we will always eventually be free from any form of trouble or strife. We even find doctrines that purport that if we are in some form of strife, we are out of the perfect will of God. The loving Father that I read about in the Bible loves to walk with us through difficulties rather than steer us around them.

Hold my hand, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Are you feeling the pressure of change taking place in your life? Do you fluctuate between being bold in your actions (flowing in your anointing) and fear (holding back, almost immobilized?) It is because I am calling you to move beyond your comfort zone. I am requiring more of you, adapting you to your changing world. I have told you that much is happening in the spiritual realm and your world is responding accordingly. Situations and seasons are accelerating. My promises are unfolding quickly. You must change with them or all will be out of order.

"You see, you are very important to My work being done. You carry My Spirit. I give you an anointing, and I fill you with My presence to touch your world. Do not take lightly My encouragement to do what is necessary to become all that you can be in Me. Exchange your life for Mine now. Draw close. I love you and I desire for you to come into the fullness of your anointing. Much is to be done. I plan to use you.”

Eph. 6:12-13 NIV

12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Rev. 22:17 AMP

The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened]: and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink of the water of Life without cost.

 

I reflect back on the concerns and worries that I encountered even ten years ago. They seem like grade school felt when I was in college. The world is not the same. In fact, people who are really pressing in with the Lord have been saying that something has happened in the spiritual realm. There is a darker presence all around us.

If that is the reality, then it would seem that the tools we were using before the darkness increased would be inadequate for these present days. Please understand, I am not saying that God’s tools are inadequate at all. I am saying that ten minutes of prayer each day, unfocused praise and worship, disregarded hidden sin, cold unfruitful lives, and all else that allowed us to remain complacent will not suffice in this rapidly changing world.

The Lord is now requiring us to step up to the task and really become who we have been saying all along that we are. No more semi-spiritual church games, if we want to fulfill our purpose in life.

I reflect back to the 9/11 plane that was taken down to the ground by the passengers. From what I understand, some of the pivotal players on that plane were Christians. In a heartbeat moment, their lives were required of them. Whatever they had to call upon to overtake the hijackers was either what they had on tap from their relationship with the Lord prior to that instant or it was given to them during the trial.

I’m convinced that the time we’re in now is the beginning of one of the finest hours for members of the church who will see and hear and respond to what the Lord is saying. I believe that those who press in and respond to the Lord will play a vital part in the strategic plans that He is unfolding at this very moment.

Wanting to hear clearly and respond properly,

Jim Corbett

“If you are Mine in Jesus, the person you were before He became your Lord no longer exists as far as I am concerned. That person is as non-existent as your previous sins. Why do you carry the dead carcass with its past history with you? Your new life is a new beginning. You can discard your old spirit and live in the Spirit of Jesus. Leave its wounds, fears, sins, and failures behind. Take on your new life in Christ. Allow Him to live in and through you. That old person is dead. It is no longer you. Stop living as if the work of Jesus is not complete.”

2 Cor. 5:17 AMP

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ, (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

Ephesians 3:16-17 AMP

16) May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling  your innermost being and personality].

17) May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love…

Phil. 4:13 AMP 

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

 

Our sufficiency is not in ourselves if we are abiding in Christ. Any power we have to overcome is the power that is ours through the work of the cross and the new birth. When we became born again, our old inner man died, and the new person we are in Christ became alive and lives this day in each of us.

So many of us choose to carry around the old dead carcass and its memories alongside our new life. We try to remain in and retain that old familiar being, rather than taking on the being of Jesus that dwells in us. He never sinned, so our past sins no longer exist; and that is just the beginning. In Him, we are free. We have the privilege of starting new, not carrying all of our old tapes, fears, wounds, and useless actions with us, unless we choose to do so. How foolish we are if that is where we choose to live, instead of living in and through Christ where we belong!

Teach me Your truth, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you see the mounting tide of anger in your world? Do you see nation against nation becoming predominant? Do you see that soon, very soon, everyone will be calling for a redeemer to solve daily issues? You know better. You have the answer. He is Jesus. Tell as many as you can before it’s too late.”

Isaiah 8:11-14 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].

14) And He shall be a sanctuary [a sacred and indestructible asylum to those who reverently fear and trust in Him]; but He shall be a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2 Cor. 5:20-21 NIV

20) We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

21) God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

For a long time, we have been hearing that we are living in the end times. Most people scoff at the notion that we really are living in the times foretold by the Bible. Most Christians act as if everything is going to stay the same as it always was, when we above all should know better.

God is calling this generation of believers to observe the times and seasons and make a quality decision to become all that we can be, so that as many can come to Christ as will listen. That is going to take some pretty radical changes in our thinking about what is important and what is not. It is also going to take some nerve to act on what we know to be true. How are you doing with that? What are you doing about it?

Show me truth and help me to act on it, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Is there anyone you need to repent to or ask their forgiveness? It is important that your relationships are in order, if you are looking to have intimacy with Me. How can you come to Me if you disobey My command to forgive those who have offended you, or choose not to make things right with those you have offended? How do you expect Our relationship to be complete with sin between Us? Put things in order between you and everyone you can, as soon as you can. Then come to Me. I will share My life with you. I will wait!”

Acts 24:15-16 NIV

15) …and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

16) So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

23) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

 

Most of us in the church hope that the Lord doesn’t really mean what He says in these verses. Surely He is not that concerned about our relationships with others if we say we are following Jesus. Is He? He is?

Get my heart right, Lord,

Jim Corbett