Prayer | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

12/03/24 Our Privilege

Have you ever thought about the privileges we have as husbands and fathers? Though there are many, one of the most wonderful is the ability to hold those we love before the Father for His blessing upon them. Not only do we observe their days; we also have the honor of laboring in prayer for them as we see their needs.

Think of it. God has chosen us to be a valued asset in the lives of those we love, to lend a hand for their best interests, to undergird them in their times of need or challenge by presenting them before our mighty God for His faithful intervention. That’s some pretty powerful stuff!

The apostle Paul talked about being in pain as if in childbirth until Christ was formed in his circle of influence. He considered it his task to hold them before the One Who can do something about their real need. We can do the same for those we love. It’s our job, our moment-by-moment assignment! It’s our calling and privilege!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

12/02/24 Furthering God’s Kingdom

“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

12/02/24 Seize the Moment

Being a man who’s lost one of his children, I’m often reminded of the many wasted moments, wrong decisions, and times when other things appeared more important than devoting time to her. I look back and wish I had seized every opportunity to enjoy her, instead of placing other supposedly more important things ahead of her.

As husbands and fathers, we are truly blessed. We each have the honor of witnessing the lives of those God has given us. As we observe their days, it’s our privilege to share in the delights they experience and grieve with them when they’re in need of a shoulder to cry on. All investments in them add to the wonder of participating in the life God has given them.

At certain points in the din of everyday life, most of us lose the importance of time spent with those standing close to us. Instead of grasping every instant to appreciate those precious moments, challenges, decisions, needs, and schedules cloud the wonder of family life, sometimes to the point of being too late. How I wish I had redeemed the time! How I wish I had seized every opportunity I had to participate in my first daughter’s life! Today I determine in my heart to not make the same mistake with those who remain.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/30/24 Carving Away What Was

“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

11/30/24 We Don’t Understand

As a man who understood so little for so long regarding the spiritual impact my actions had, all I can do now is fall before the Lord in repentance as He reveals them to me. Don’t get me wrong; I know I’m forgiven, and each day I’m reminded of the wonder of the cross and the shed blood of Jesus. Those truths give me the privilege of relying on Christ every day.

My point is: in observing the actions of the world and even the church, it’s painfully noticeable that few of us men understand the spiritual significance of our words and actions until they are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. As men, does it register, for example, that adultery in any form rips apart the spirit of those we sin against, including us? Do we understand that placing anything before our marriage and our children causes untold spiritual damage to the inner beings of those we steward? It rarely crosses our minds that our sons, and especially our daughters, can spend years attempting to fill gaping voids because of our careless words, thoughtless actions, or lack of involvement in their lives. Because it’s rarely seen for what it is, and the consequences of our foolishness add up little by little in most cases, it’s often too late to repair the damage without a powerful move of God once we realize what we’ve done.

It’s time for men to dig in with God and ask Him to show us the corresponding consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions - good and bad. It’s time to assess what’s happening in the spiritual realm when we move through our lives doing this and saying that, often unaware of the spiritual damage we do to those near us. God is always looking to restore families in both large and small ways.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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