Tag: men

In all of our lives, there are decisions, milestones, intersections, and crossroads that determine direction for us and our families. They have either a positive or negative impact on those around us, depending on our spiritual maturity. As men, we are to guide the ones we steward with the wisdom we gain in fellowship with our Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The closer we are to the Lord and the more we listen to His counsel, the better our loved ones will fare.

In every life, there are at least two turning points, specific times when our life direction and our priorities change. The first is the decision to make Jesus the Lord over everything in our lives. That decision brings the most important relationship possible to our lives and sets us on a new and wonderful direction with God as our Father, Jesus as our Lord, and the Holy Spirit as our guide.

The second most important turning point is the one in which we determine in our hearts to walk in the kingdom of heaven with God in Christ while on this earth. That decision sets us on a course to overcome all the hazards and challenges the world has to offer. Although we have been made spiritual beings through submission to the Lordship of Christ, most of us walk with one foot in the world, listening and functioning in the atmosphere of flesh and blood, and one foot attempting to follow God. We are spiritual beings in a physical world, attempting to listen to both sides of every issue that arises.

This second turning point - the decision to follow only God, walk as Jesus walked on this earth, and listen only to His Father’s heart - sets us free.  Although we remain in the world, when we choose to function in the kingdom of heaven’s spiritual atmosphere with its limitless power, eternal focus, and perfect direction for this life, nothing can touch us. We become immune to the hazards of this world, and embraced by everything God is and has done through the cross of Christ. We become spiritual beings who are focused on the spiritual world we belong in through the work of Jesus. Which kingdom do you choose?

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Jim Corbett

Most men are doers! We take pride in our accomplishments because society has trained us to do so. Our dads were taught to do, and passed that mentality on to us just as their dads did.

In Christ, however, the Holy Spirit is teaching us to become like Jesus. Anybody can do. Few can completely change who they are and become something else. That can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit, Who changes our very nature.  He will only do it if we submit to His hand upon us.

Doing for the Lord is easy. All we have to do is serve someone or some cause in our spare time. Most of the church delights in doing for the Lord, thinking that’s where His heart is. Sometimes with great zeal they take on what they feel may be a passion of God’s heart. Their activity may have some merit; but if their zeal gets in the way of their becoming like Jesus, they’re wrong.

Becoming like Jesus takes many quiet times of waiting on God. It takes many times of denying the urge to do something, even something good, to sit in His presence. To find His heart changes you. That’s why the enemy delights in keeping us so busy that we have little time to wait on God and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to our inner being, changing it to look more and more like Jesus. Only the laying down of our urges, the putting to death our flesh, transforms us into His likeness. Waiting quietly before the Lord makes us becomers.

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Jim Corbett

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