Tag: Prayer

“It’s time for you to invest in someone other than yourself. You need to put aside your own needs for a while and inquire about the needs of someone around you. If you really want to learn how to love like Jesus loves, find someone you don’t like or someone who has done you wrong and invest in that person. Make plans for him to prosper. Pray that he be blessed. Give a series of good gifts to him, especially if he does not need them. Pray for him on a continual basis. You get the idea. Jesus died for those who spat on Him at the cross. He even blessed them and asked for forgiveness on their behalf. You have trouble getting your eyes off of yourself. How Christ-like is that?”

I Cor. 13:5-7 AMP

5) It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

6) It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

7) Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

Php 2:3-7 NIV

3) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

4) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

6) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

 

Enough said!

Help me to be like You, Jesus,

Jim Corbett

“Do you ever wonder why I sometimes call attention to your sins when we are alone? It is because I am your dedicated Father, Who loves you very much. Your relationship with Me is very real and I cherish it more than you could ever know. I’ve commanded the universe into being. I’ve set the stars to be immovable from their position, but I have gently called you to Me. You are so important to Me that I sometimes whisper your name. You are far more than some command that I’ve issued. You are a thoughtful desire whom I’ve created for Myself. I remember each moment that We’ve shared together.

“When you are too busy to spend time with Me, I miss you very much. When you are involved in sin, I must turn My face because of what you are doing; but I have never turned My back, and I never will. I sometimes remind you of your faults when We’re together to get them out of the way of Our communication. You only need to remember to give them to Me; I have the power to eliminate them. Once they’re gone, they no longer hinder Us from sharing with one another. I love that kind of interaction. It is more important to Me than nations, governments, or world situations. Those are all passing away, but Our relationship is just beginning.

“Think intently on this; never forget it. I love you very much. You are the very desire of My heart. When We need to get serious about the changes that are needed in you, We’ll deal with them swiftly to remove them from you for your good. Otherwise, I’m going to enjoy every moment that We have together. I am planning on many of those moments. That’s why I’ve brought you to Me.”

Deut. 31:6 NIV

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Ps. 139:15-16 NIV

15) My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16) your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

1 Peter 1:3-4 NIV

3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4) and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade – kept in heaven for you…

Rev. 3:19-20 AMP

19) Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].

20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

 

Honest, unquestioning love - what an incredible gift! So often I forget what this life with Christ is all about. I get caught up in the training and forget about the hope, the joy, and the astounding privilege.

Think about it. All of us are being refined and made into the image of our Lord and Savior. We are unfinished, yes, but we are accepted. While that process is being accomplished, we have been given the remarkable gift of fellowshipping with each other, and also with our Father God.

Our fellowship with each other is supposed to be a safe place for us, and in certain situations it is. Other times, it is used to make us grow. Our fellowship with our Father, however, is designed to bring us life - real, eternal, vibrant life. Whenever we go to Him, He always imparts Himself to us. We always come away better and wiser in Him, even if He has issues with us that need to be dealt with. It is always a winning situation.

A while ago, the Lord showed me some of the needs of His church, and they were many. As I reflect back though, He was not showing me in the context of needs that I should address. He was releasing me from judgment. He was showing me His hope, which is an eternal hope in His power to bring the true church of Jesus Christ into the place that we were designed to be - a positive, flowing companionship of love. He wanted me to know that the thought of giving up on any of us who want more of Him never enters His mind.

Needing to remember more of the “why,” rather than focusing on the “what,”

Jim Corbett

“The foolish among you are not heeding My repeated calls to intimacy. You are not changing the religious format of your life by making time with Me your priority. I am calling you to Myself so that you can hear My heart and I can make you more like Jesus. When I am your priority and you come fully surrendered, I give you His heart - a bridal heart with bridal desires for bridal preparation.

“Jesus is coming soon for those who have only His desires, seek only His ways; and have prepared only for Him. Cast aside the other gospels that are so prominent in your world. Any message that does not call for intimacy and proper heart preparation is a foolish doctrine designed for the foolish heart. To follow them will have you standing on the sidelines when My end-time plan unfolds.”

Matt. 25:1-6 NIV

1) “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2) Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

3) The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

4) The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

5) The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6) At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’”

Hebrews 1:3 AMP

He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.  When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high…

 

So many things distract us from focusing on why we have been born and then born again, as God sees it. We have been born to accept God’s way of salvation, Jesus Christ. When we do, we are to allow Christ’s life to live through us, so that others can accept Him as their Savior and Lord.

We are to take on His nature as He took on the nature of His Father. That kind of image only comes from intimacy, a sharing and imparting of Christ’s nature by a loving Father. When Jesus comes, He will be looking for those who were wise enough to gain His heart, are familiar with godly intimacy, and are as He is.

Make me like You, Lord,

Jim Corbett