Tag: Jesus

“Are you cherishing those I bring into your life? Do you realize that I love them very much, no matter what condition they are in? I send them to you so that they can get a closer look as to what Jesus looks like. Do they see Him in you? Do they have more of a desire to serve Him because they have been with you, and you have shown the wonders of His person?

 “That is why you have been called into My kingdom. You have not been called to be with Me so that you can be well-fed and satisfied. You have been called so that My plan can be furthered. Begin to see your life and your purpose for living through My eyes. You will be amazed at how patient I have been with you.”

Psalm 106:12-15a AMP

12) Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise.

13) But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them.

14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

15) And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls…

Matt. 7:21-23 NIV

21) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22) Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23) Then, I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

Matthew 16:22-23 NIV

22) Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23) Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

 

A self-serving gospel is dead religion masked in spirituality. It is another gospel, not the gospel preached by Jesus. So many Christians today think that they are living according to the will of the Lord, when He has long ago bypassed them and is using those with open hearts who long to do His will.

The Lord has a remnant in training, a people who surrender every aspect of their being to His Lordship every moment of every day. They are learning to live entirely in Christ, rather than attempting to find the easiest road to heaven and consuming the things that the Lord has provided for them upon themselves. He is raising up a holy people, calling them out from the cold religious functions so prevalent today.

Do whatever it takes, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Do you remember that I own every beat of your heart? What if I were to call you home today? Would you have fulfilled My desired plan for you? Would your life have been of consequence? You really have a choice. You can do many great and not so great things. You can look to others as if you had a deep relationship with Me because of your many activities. But I know. I know if We have spent enough time together for you to fully understand My will for your life. I know the difference between good activities and anointed steps guided by My heart. Come to Me now to learn of My purpose for giving you more beats of your heart. Come and allow Me to make your life of great consequence.”

Proverbs 16:9 AMP

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Proverbs 20:24 AMP

Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?

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?”

 

If you were to take all the imaginations of mankind, all the wealth, knowledge, and power of all the men and women that have ever lived and combine them, multiplied by one million to the millionth power, it would not compare to the wonder of one moment of God in His ordinary (for Him) daily activities and interactions with us. With all that our Father God is and has and has done, His heart has favor toward the opportunity He created for those He formed from the ground of the earth to be in association with Him.

This love association is an unparalleled drama that has overwhelmed the mind of the scholar, disgusted the heart of the bigot, softened the heart of the needy, and filled to overflowing the heart of the child.  In all the wonder that is our God, the most amazing aspect, which has baffled mankind throughout his time in existence, is the well-put phrase in the Book of Psalms, “Who is man that you are mindful of him?

Thank You for caring about my life, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Foolish hearts and lying tongues cannot be part of your association or interaction one to another. Both must be far removed if you desire My presence. You must consider the horrible impact of these acts. A foolish heart minimizes the importance of those things that are important to Me. It denies biblical truths and sways others to live for themselves, not for the glory of Jesus. A lying tongue kills the truth. It murders the wealth of My Holy Spirit, separates My children, and destroys the trust, one to another, that is needed if you are to move with Me.

“Get rid of these elements in your fellowship. Get rid of them in your heart. Get rid of them in your association with Me, so that I may use you to touch others. I require you to walk in integrity with a steadfast heart. Come to Me in repentance as you see any sign of these attitudes in your life. I will gladly remove them from you. They must be out of your life before we go on.”

Joshua 7:13 AMP

Up, sanctify (set apart for a holy purpose) the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: There are accursed things in the midst of you, O Israel. You can not stand before your enemies until you take away from among you the things devoted [to destruction].

Jeremiah 15:19 AMP

Therefore thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah]: If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God’s faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece…

Col. 3:9-10 AMP

9) Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices.

10) And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.

 

A fool says in his heart that there is no God. Any degree of foolishness that is within us decreases our ability to see our Father for who He really is. The more foolishness there is, the less we appreciate the magnificence of God.

A lie is as deadly as murder to any life in Christ. Satan is the father of lies.

So, let’s see…we lie to one another and harbor foolishness in our hearts by looking to the world for truth and comfort. Not a real good testimony.

Teach me truth, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Delight yourself in Me. Make Me part of those things that mean much to you. Cherish the values of Jesus. Pattern your life after His life. If you do these things, your heart will cherish the things of His heart.  It will hold them dear. With the same heart motives as His, your requests to Me will be in line with My Word and My heart. You can then rest assured that your every request will be fulfilled, for I know it will further My kingdom.”

Psalm 37:4 NIV

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I John 5:14-15 AMP

14) And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

15) And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

 

Few of us remember that everything we do is supposed to be about God’s desires, His plans, and His will. Many times we attempt to make this Christian walk all about us and our desires and plans. God becomes this bottomless well from which we can draw. He is a gift giver, protector of our freedoms, and maker of our prosperity. Foolish teachers even make dead end doctrines - which are heralded by the selfish and accepted by the immature - out of our need to have our lusts fulfilled.

Once we understand and accept the Lord’s way, we become free. Our prayers come in line with God’s ideas. Our needs become focused on how they can further the Lord’s work. The desires of our hearts change. Our motives become pure.  We ask for ways to become more like Jesus. We crave tools to help others. The things of the world fall away, pale in comparison with the things of God. All of our hearts’ desires are fulfilled, sometimes without even asking. God fulfills them because they are in line with His heart. He is a Father who gives good gifts.

 I want Your heart desires, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“Don’t you think that I would love to give you everything that you would like from Me? Do you for one moment believe that I do not see your need and desire to meet those needs with all My heart? I would! You see, however, we have an agreement. You have agreed to allow Jesus to be Lord over everything that you are, all that you own, and every situation in your life. I have agreed to conform you into the image of Jesus. Those two commitments are working together to accomplish truth for your life.

“You have no ability to become anything other than what you have always been. You need Me to change you. To do that, I place you in situations, bring people into your life, and allow hardship to come your way to carve away at the person you used to be, in order to allow room for your new inner being to come to the forefront. I am never far from fulfilling all your desires. Before I do that, however, your desires need to be conformed to those of Jesus. When that is accomplished, it allows you to fulfill your commitment to Me and My promise to you. It is allowing everything to work together for good.

“Is it not time for you to stop asking Me only for things? Those will all come as you grow up and I am able to send them your way. Begin to work with Me and allow My promise to come to pass in you. You will be amazed at how delightful your life will be. Be assured that I will keep My promise to you. While I am doing that, I am helping you to keep your commitment to 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.

Ephesians 3:16 AMP

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].

 

Sometimes our “life” becomes so big in front of us, that we forget what our reason for breathing really is. We have been born into the kingdom of God to serve. Jesus has authored and is finishing our faith through what has been and is being done because of the work of the cross and the open grave. Father God is completing us to be a proper representation of that work.

During times when the process of “carving” becomes particularly intense, I have difficulty remembering that it is commitment, motivated by intense love on the part of our Father in heaven, that is at work. I forget what this life is really all about.

Thank You for always remembering, Lord,

Jim Corbett