Tag: love

We live in a throw-away society where products are geared toward planned obsolescence, newer is supposedly better; and why fix it when you can throw it away and get a new one. Well, that’s certainly not the way God wants us to approach our marriages and families. He asks us to do everything we can to monitor, rescue, rebuild, and help repair the lives we steward as husbands and fathers. He calls us to do it mainly on our knees.

When the enemy attempts to harm those we steward, we must engage in spiritual warfare on behalf of those he’s attempting to destroy with everything we can muster by the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re to minimize other priorities and fight on their behalf until the war is won. Other than our personal relationship with Christ, there should be nothing more important to us than maintaining Christ-like relationships within our families and engaging in the restoration of either our marriages or our children when they are in peril.

As you appraise your marriage and the lives of your children, ask the Lord to show you His perspective. Ask Him to allow you to see them as He sees them. Do they have need of your spiritual intervention? Is it time for you to say, as Paul did, that you are as if in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in others? In your case, that would be your relationship with your wife and the welfare of your children. Is your approach as intense as Paul’s was? It should be!

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Jim Corbett

As a husband and father, would you do anything to change your ways if you realized the lives of your wife and children are gifts that will be presented to God one day? Who they become will be laid at the feet of our Lord. Because you hold these offices, you’re a steward of those lives. You’re responsible to provide an atmosphere for them to become all they can be in Christ and you’ll answer to God for the result.

You see, as Christian men, you and I are called to a higher standard than those who live in the world. We’re to love more, serve more, and have God’s higher purposes in mind for everything we do. We are God’s representatives on this earth. He owns our lives, which makes us stewards of them for His honor and glory.

In the world, husbands and fathers are considered a success if their marriage is outwardly OK and their children are accepted by society’s standards. You have a higher call. God asks that your marriage be an example of the relationship of Christ and His church. He asks that your children come to know Him personally through their submission to Jesus as their Savior and Lord and serve Him with all their hearts. He asks you to pave the way for that to happen through the power of the Holy Spirit. Success in His eyes is far different than the supposed success of the world. Which will you choose?

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Jim Corbett

As men, we are taught to hold on to our own safety and make sure no one takes our stuff. Some time ago, the Lord startled me while I was in one of those quiet-almost-sleepy-could-really-be-dozing kind of prayer times. His voice was quiet and full of love. He said, "I want you to know that I love your most aggressive enemies as much as I love you. There is no one on the face of this earth that I wish would perish. I want you to pray for all those who hate Me. In fact, I want you to pray for anyone who will hate My children. Pray that they will be able to share My love."

Then things got personally serious. "I want you to pray for those who will kill you. I don't mean that someone is going to do that, necessarily; but I want you to have the heart that would care about their salvation more than you care about your own life." By now, I was awake. Pray for someone who hated me enough to kill me! Love others - even the bad guys?

The Lord then reminded me of His actions on the cross. He had words of forgiveness for those who were spitting on Him and an attitude of great love for those who drove the nails in His hands. He told me to do the same with anyone who came against me. It was enough to remind me this life is not centered around my well-being. What a novel thought!

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Jim Corbett

As men, it’s easier to try to do something about all the brush fires we ignite with our spiritual ignorance than it is to become everything we’re called to be in Christ. Making something happen is far easier than waiting on God to direct our steps and completely oversee our lives, which allows us to avoid the many pitfalls the enemy has planned against our families.

Doing stuff to make things better in our own strength means we’ve unknowingly decided to make ourselves vulnerable to the traps set by the enemy against our families. It means we’ve reduced the outcome of our lives to the limitations of our own carnal thinking and insufficient power. It means we’ve offered the enemy an opportunity to attempt to override the plans God has for us and our families.  It means we’re in the world and of the world; and, therefore, incapable of winning any spiritual war waged against us. It means we’ve taken the well-traveled, easier road and chosen to walk in spiritual weakness.

On the other hand, becoming a true man of God and a mighty warrior means we’ve overcome and discarded the ways of the world. We’ve ceased to function in the realm of the enemy and have planted our flag in the kingdom of God by submitting to its guidelines in our lives. It means we’ve crucified the flesh, having gladly died to its demands and becoming fully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus over every area of our lives and the lives of our families. It means we’ve accepted God’s invitation into His throne room, which He can make our war room where nothing harmful prevails over us or those we love. Would you like to live there?

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Jim Corbett

Are you a man of action, or do you find yourself reacting to challenges that could have been avoided if you had engaged sooner? Preemptive prayer is an action that helps to create a smooth path for families to travel.

As I look around, I see so many marriages that appear to be on the verge of failing, or at best, things have dimmed over the years. I see children who’ve been overcome by the world, unaware of the bondage they’re in.  I also see husbands and fathers who’ve either given up long ago or are hopelessly looking for ways to get their families out of the mess they’re in. All they can do is react to the next emergency their family faces. They live the life of a blind guide, putting out fire after fire, while attempting to maintain some semblance of a Christian family.

I also notice the families of a praying husband and father. Sure, they have challenges; but what’s not seen is all of the enemy’s plans that have been destroyed long before they could take effect. What’s not seen is the aggressive posture the man of God has taken on behalf of those he stewards. What’s not seen is the “hands off my family” notice that’s been given to the enemy. What’s not seen is the supernatural hedge built around the family of the mighty man of prayerful action on their behalf. That man is you!

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Jim Corbett