Tag: From Our Father’s Heart

“As you work through those things that are placed in front of you, remember that there is a much larger picture that is unfolding. Your world is groaning as if in birth. My plan is unfolding at My rate of speed, on My terms, in response to My command. Soon, what seems very large in front of you will pass away.

 “Everything is about to change. When you are with Me, your darkest fear will not even be a memory. There is only one constant in your life. His Name is Jesus. He is with you now. He will be with you for eternity.

 “Embrace Him. Embrace His ways. The pattern that He has set for your life will be the way you will function for all eternity. You would do well to go to Him to find out what that is.”

Psalm 127:1 AMP

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city,  the watchman wakes but in vain.

Proverbs 20:24 AMP

Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord….

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.”

Matthew 24:35 NIV

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

 

Although Jesus is the Savior to all mankind, He is a very personal Savior to each of us. He is the one constant in every aspect of each of our lives. He is our individual hope, our personal wisdom, and our continual pattern for living. Our relationship with Him is never-ending because He is never-ending. Wouldn’t it make sense to have Him be the priority in everything we do?

Thank You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“Where did you get the foolish notion that you would be ready for Jesus when He comes, if you have spent your lifetime pursuing other loves? How will He recognize those who are His, if they do not have the same heart motives and desires that He does - those who look and act just like Him?

 “It would be wise to decide to have Jesus as your only love. Your life should be spent in preparation for His return, not in pursuit of worldly comforts. Stop listening to useless arguments about when He is coming and live your days as if it were today.

 “This is your time of preparation. It is My time of making sure that all is complete. When all is in order, He will appear for those who are His, those who have given their hearts completely to Him. Will you have made yourself ready?”

James 4:4-10 AMP

4) You [are like] unfaithful wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your marriage vow to God! Do you not know that being the world’s friend is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand as an enemy of God.

5) Or do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?

6) But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to receive it).

7) So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.

8) Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].

9) [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins].

10) Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].

 

Those who are aware of the times and seasons in which we live are divided into two groups. One group is preparing with moderate zeal because they understand how wonderful it would be to be part of what might soon take place. They are flowing in their usual “this is gonna be good for me” attitude and believe that it will be adequate for whatever happens, whenever it happens.

The other group, those of you who have chosen to live as Jesus lived, have heard the same call, only you have learned from intimate times with the Father that compromise is not part of the character of Jesus. You know that the kind of heart that finds satisfaction in anything other than the Father’s will is in no way similar to Jesus’ heart.

You have learned that it is important to the Father that Jesus recognize Himself in those who are waiting and/or working for Him. You know that responding to the present call to intimacy is important to God and are willing to do so for no other reason than to glorify the Father and please Jesus.  You know that falling in love with Jesus, a vital and often missing part in the fulfillment of God’s plan, is necessary and you desire to do what it takes to go there.

 Make me ready, Lord,

Jim Corbett

 

“Who in the land is out to prove Me faithful? Who has made it their goal to glorify My Name? Who is willing to pay any price for the privilege of carrying My Word to a cold church and a dying world?

 “I have many who say that they will; but over and over, when the pressure gets too great and the trials become too intense, they turn away unwilling to pay the required price for My anointing. What most do not know is that they were on the very threshold of breaking through to victory. Most never knew what they could have done with Me if they had only withstood the pressure a moment longer. I would have poured everything that I have and everything that I am into them, just as I did with those who remained faithful in My Word.

“Where would you be if Paul had given up because of the pressure put on him? You, My remnant, need to understand something. My anointing no longer comes cheap. There is a great price to be paid if you want My presence on what you do. Most of those you know will not be willing to pay the price. I know that, so I am eliminating them by bringing fiery trials into their lives, so that their true nature will be revealed.

“Those who overcome will soon move in a power that has been unavailable to My church for some time. Those who fall away because of the pressure will never know what could have been. You need to decide how important My presence is to you.

“Do you wish to remain with those who are remaining in an old anointing, or do you crave to be with Me in what I am doing in these end times? If you choose to move with Me, it will cost you everything. Are you willing to pay the price?

“Before you answer, you had better count the cost. If you choose My better way, I will be your ever-present Lord. The world will know that Jesus dwells in My people because they will see Him once again in you. Does that mean enough to you to submit to whatever it takes to carry His Name in that manner? If it doesn’t, move aside now. Step out of your calling and be put aside during this time.”

Exodus 33:13-16 NIV

13) “If I have found favor in your eyes, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14) The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15) Then Moses said to him, ”If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

16) How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Acts 21:12-13 NIV

12) “When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

13) Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

 

Can you imagine Jesus stopping short of the cross because it was too difficult? What if Paul had deemed that the cost of his ministry was too high? What if either of them, or the countless others who have been raised up for specific moves of God throughout biblical history, had refused to pay the price to accomplish their calling? Where would we be?

Except in the case of Jesus, I’m sure that the Lord would’ve found someone else to accomplish the task at hand; so what about the ordinary guys like us who refuse to pay the price? Can you imagine facing our Lord, knowing that we refused Him because we thought our challenge was too difficult?

At this moment, our Lord is calling out a remnant of sold-out believers. Because of the task that will soon be before them, He is presenting increasingly difficult trials to them to expose their level of commitment to Him. His anointing will not come cheap to this generation any longer.  These fiery tests will help to develop a rock-solid commitment in those who embrace all challenges presented. Conversely, they will eliminate anyone who feels that the price is too high.

Each person who had an impact on his or her generation was raised up for that specific time. Every one of them was faced with the same decision that we face today - to do what they were called to do or stand on the sidelines while the Lord accomplished His will through someone else. We hear about, read about, and pattern our lives after those who said “Yes.” Those who refused, well…

Let that not happen to me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you know that I like every one of My children? I know that you can possibly comprehend that I could love you as some sort of obligation on My part, but to comprehend that the Lord of the universe likes you is possibly a little much. Well, I do! I not only love you; I like you! I like being with you. I enjoy hearing your every thought, your every need. I really care about the things that you care about. You are the reason that I have done everything that you read about in My Word. You are My hope for future creations.

 “Come and talk with Me. Let Me know what concerns you or makes you happy. I like being with you.”

Ps. 139:1-3 AMP

1) O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.

2) You know my downsitting and my uprising. You understand my thought afar off.

3) You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways.

I Peter 5:7 AMP

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

 

The thought of the Creator of all things liking us does seem a little much, doesn't it? Everywhere in His Word, however, it does point to a glorious God Who is preparing people for a time when they will spend eternity with Him. Maybe we should try to grasp the concept of our Lord liking us. It would sure make prayer time a little more wonderful, wouldn't it?

Thank You for loving and liking me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“The life you live brings credit or discredit to the work of Jesus and the cross. Most people think that when they achieve much or gain much that they are being blessed abundantly. That is not necessarily so. That is not how I judge your credentials. You bring credit or discredit to the work of Jesus by how much you truly look like Jesus.

 “Do you love as He loves? Do you care about My plans as He did? Are you laying down your life for others as He did? In how many ways are you like Him?

 “Even though you may appear to be a successful Christian to others, even though you fellowship regularly, even though you do and say the right things, you will eventually bring discredit to the cross if you are not continually submitting to the power of the cross to change your life. If you do not have My interests as your priority, if your heart is not on its way to becoming like the heart of Jesus, you have missed one of the main reasons He died. That is not good!”

I Sam. 16:7 AMP

But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as a man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

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...”

Hosea 4:6 AMP

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge…

Matthew 26: 53-54 NIV

53) “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

54) But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

 

At a very crucial time for Jesus, He cared more that the Scriptures were fulfilled than He cared for His own life. How close to that kind of heart are we? Do we even give thought to the Word of God being fulfilled in our lives?

Have we ever really understood that those in the world knowingly and unknowingly scrutinize our lives and determine in their hearts how powerful the work of the cross really is? If we don’t exhibit continual change as we grow in Christ, they walk away and attach little importance to what Jesus did for all of us.

Make my life a credit to You, Lord,

Jim Corbett