Tag: love

There is no greater example of the character of Christ being displayed than one who serves another. In the family dynamic, nothing speaks louder than example, especially examples of service. Even the hardest of hearts notices someone walking the walk of Christ-like behavior instead of simply talking the talk.

Bottom line, Father God is looking for a marriage that is the example of Christ and His church, and children who overcome the world just as Jesus did. As a father, there is no better way to tell them of His ways than by showing them how He lived and what He stood for. Your walk of servanthood leads them to His life.

It might be wise to define servanthood. A servant isn’t someone who displays whimsical attitudes and selfish, uncaring actions. A servant holds a heart position of loving someone more than himself and his own desires. It means living for the best interests of those around him. It means having the inner strength to deny self for the good of another. It is overcoming the world in the strength of Jesus by walking in the kingdom of heaven on this earth with Christ as your only guide. A true servant is a powerful leader under the complete control of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the best servant leader Who ever lived. Will you allow Him to live His life through you?

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Jim Corbett

I know that journaling may seem like a topic unrelated to raising up a child or restoring a marriage; but in reality, they work hand in hand because journaling only comes from quietly waiting on God. That kind of quiet – far from the din of everything we do as men - is so very important in receiving what is needed to overcome the challenges of marriage and child raising. Journaling those moments and reviewing what the Lord gives you can make an incredible difference over time.

In my research, I have found very few men who journal their quiet time with the Lord. Most say they simply don’t have the time, or that they don’t spend enough time with Him to require journaling. What an incredible indictment! That attitude is a perfect spawning ground for mediocre marriages and wayward children.

Think of this; sitting quietly with the Lord and allowing Him to minister to your spirit, give you insights into your challenges, and present you with answers and direction for your concerns. Then think about how important it would be for you to jot down all that He gives you. Now think about how important those notes and encouragements would be if you could refer to them weeks, months, or even years later.  With journaling, you have unparalleled wealth at your fingertips whenever you need it. Journaling also allows you to remember His faithfulness in times past whenever you encounter a new challenge. It’s like treasure hidden away for a later date. Got a pen?

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Jim Corbett

Men, if you are typical of the Christian man of today, you function as if you are unable to recognize your spiritual impotence to the point that you do not desire to see the character of Christ reproduced completely in you or in those around you as your priority in life.  As a typical Christian man, you have chosen to set aside God’s desire for your life in order to fulfill your own concept of what your life should be, or maybe just survive in an incredibly difficult world. You feel that you are spiritually comfortable and adequate, and see no need to consistently act as Jesus would act and love as He would love in your family.

Like a gelded horse that no longer has an interest in mares, most of you have little Christ-like spiritual enthusiasm toward the people within your circle of influence or for your part in God’s plan for mankind. Remember, we are talking priorities. If you would really get honest with yourself, your thoughts are not continually on where others will spend eternity or on who they could become in this lifetime through your influence on them by the way you represent Jesus. Even the spiritual well-being of your family, those God has entrusted to you as His steward, falls somewhere behind economic challenges, your job demands, the home and yard work, the toys you want to acquire, and the sports teams you idolize. If this is you, you are impotent in discerning the things that are important to God.

As an example of your impotence, if you sports fans would also get honest with yourself, you’d admit you focus more on whatever teams you follow than on the spiritual condition of your wife and children. Even if you do care about their spirituality, you probably have little ability, little desire, and few tools to foster their spiritual growth, to do whatever it takes to have them able to present a significant life to God. If you are not that heavy into sports, you can substitute the word “sports” with any other personal god, such as worry, fear, work, success, money, or worldly power, etc., to which you’ve pledged your allegiance.

[Even attempting to gain a significant life for your own good shows your spiritual impotence.]

If you take that same “getting honest with yourself” and carry it further to the point of getting honest with God, you will have to admit that the things that are important to God have been placed somewhere behind the things that give you some semblance of purpose for your life here, not eternally. Focusing on your personal fulfillment for so long, you may have actually become impotent in even discerning the things that are important to God.

Think of the eternal impact of those last statements if they are true for your life. Ask the Lord to reveal how accurate they might be for you. They may not be exactly where you stand with God; but more than likely, they’re quite close to the spiritual impotence you experience every day, if you are like Christian men in general. To whatever degree you are dealing with spiritual impotence in your life, the sooner you realize and admit it, the sooner you will be on your way to a significant, world-overcoming life in God’s eyes.

(From The Father Factor by Jim and Merry Corbett)

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Jim Corbett

When I was young in the Lord, I had many besetting sins. Even though I loved the Lord with all my heart, the bondages had not yet fallen away. The Lord was removing them one at a time and I had many left to address.

Once after many failures, I cried out to the Lord, asking Him how He could continue to forgive me. It seemed like the thousandth time I had come to Him. In the quiet of the evening, He came to me and said, “Do you know that I forgive you no longer unto My remembrance?  I don’t have a bad memory; I choose to forgive and forget, never remembering the last time you offended me. Your sins are as far as the East is from the West.”  He then told me I had a million “forgivenesses” in my account and many more after that if I needed them.

Our Father is on our side. He knew how many times we would fail Him even before He asked us into His kingdom, and He still asked us! He is in the forgiveness business as long as we are in the repentance business. That means we always have His power available to us to do whatever tasks we may have on hand with the knowledge that He is with us.

Men, there are times when you and I fall down on the job concerning our families. If things are so bad that the possibility of reconciliation seems hopeless, we can be confident that the Lord is with us in our time of need. He is waiting for us to call out to Him, and by the power of His Holy Spirit, He will do whatever it takes to help us overcome our situation.

You can’t fall down one too many times. He will be there, enabling you to repent. Your life is His. It was His idea in the first place, and He delights in your need of Him.

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Jim Corbett

So many men, whether they admit it or not, don’t like to be labeled as weak in any area. All the criteria dictated by society tells men from the time they are little boys that they need to be strong and good in bed, must have answers; and, in general, never let anyone know that they are frightened by anything. That kind of attitude has been ingrained in men for so long, that it permeates everything we do without us even being aware of it.

I’m convinced those teachings are some of the major stumbling blocks that hinder men from giving themselves over to the complete Lordship of Christ. Letting go, giving it all over, is so foreign to our thinking that most of us have to be broken before we’ll even consider surrendering everything to Him. In most cases, being out of control is very unfamiliar territory to a man.

God asks us to surrender everything we have and everything we are to the Lordship of Jesus. He asks us to rely totally on Him and His Word in everything we do without question, no matter what the consequences. In God’s economy, full surrender to Him is the opposite of weakness. Total reliance on Him is the strongest, most powerful position any man can take. It allows God’s limitless power, wisdom, and caring to flow in our direction, making us capable of overcoming everything the world has to offer.

Men, it’s time to finally lay down all false dictates and fully surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. It’s time to become weak, so we can become strong in Christ. It’s just time, isn’t it?

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Jim Corbett