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4/07/23 A Bigger Picture

As men, we need a bigger picture of our God.  We need to broaden our horizons on Who He is and what He can do.  As our confidence in and understanding of God increases, the supposed might of this world will start to appear puny and laughable. Our offices of husband and father will also take on the reality of their importance.

God's creation is a magnificent place to look for His vastness and might.  All of nature obeys Him and responds to His command.  All you need to do is look around at the wonders He has created to rekindle an awareness of His glory and majesty.

The world has trivialized and minimized God. They refuse to believe that He’s in charge.  It gives them an excuse to avoid bowing their knee to their Creator and His glory. You, on the other hand, have a personal relationship with the One Who holds all things. You have the opportunity to function with the invincible wealth that is found in Jesus. You have all of God’s wisdom and power available to help you fulfill what you’re called to do. It’s time to get a bigger picture of Who your God is and who you are in Him!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

 

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4/06/23 Paying the Price

“Do you know that you are building up a case against yourself when there is evidence of Christ’s love in your life? The world hates Who He is. When they see Him in you, they will hate you. Soon those who love Him will pay a price for that love. It may require all that you have. It may require your life. If there is any evidence that Jesus is in your life, you will be the enemy of those who hate Him. Are you ready for that kind of sacrifice? Are you ready to show them Who He really is by loving them with His kind of love when they have only murder in their hearts for you? Now is the time to prepare for those times. They are coming soon!”

Psalm 3:1-6 AMP

1) Lord, How they are increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.

2) Many are saying of me, there is no help for him in God. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

3) But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

4) With my voice I cry to the Lord and He hears and answers me out of His holy hill. Selah [pause and calmly think of that]!

5) I lay down and slept, I awakened again, for the Lord sustains me.

6) I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me round about.

Psalm 46:1 AMP

God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Matt. 5:11-12 NIV

11) “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12) Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:13 AMP

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality) how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men.

 

Most of us go to God for the “desperate” needs in our lives, like paying bills or that person at work that is not being nice to us. We forget about the saints who live under dire circumstances, such as prisons or persecutions, all over the world. We choose to forget that this life in Christ is distasteful to those who love evil.

As this season comes to an end, it would be good to understand that we are in a time of training for evil times ahead. To claim that we are immune to peril because we love Jesus is foolishness. Any reasonable, thinking human being can see that darkness is becoming more prevalent and great darkness is soon to come. Now is the time for spiritual preparation. It will be very important to know our God intimately and to gain the heart of Jesus for when great evil invades our lives.

Prepare my heart now, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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4/06/23 Together We Prosper

The wisest stance any man can take is to allow the One Who created him to determine the workings of his life.  It’s fascinating how much power and control this world flaunts to show itself strong. We’ve become desensitized to the bombardment of propaganda that tries to stop us from submitting to God in all that we do. Personal strength, winning at all costs, self-motivation, self-esteem - these are  terms that are so familiar, we don't recognize them for what they really are. They’re Satan's ploys to nullify the Word of God in which submission, repentance, humility, servanthood, and working together for the good of the other are keys to God's plan for real strength.

Nations rise when people join together for the common good, thinking of others. Nations fail when there is no real glue to join people together. That’s when people think about themselves, and that’s when they fail. Families are impacted in the same way. Preoccupied parents and children who have gone their own way is a formula for disaster in God’s eyes. It’s out of line with His plan for the purpose of the family unit.

God's plan for a strong nation or a strong, prosperous family includes the absence of self in any equation. His plan for serving one another is the answer for any situation that arises, because it exemplifies the life of Jesus. He made us; He knows what’s best for us.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

 

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4/05/23 A Devoted Thing

“You must become devoted to Me and My Word. In fact, I want your whole life to be considered a devoted thing, something having no life of its own, but existing only through and for Jesus. Build up a resistance to criticism as you sell out. Harden your heart to the sirens of the world. Soften it to every beat of His heart. Walk only where you are invited to walk with Me. Avoid anything that resembles the world.

"As you distance yourself from those things that desire to sway you away from a devoted life, you will find the true peace and happiness that comes from an honest, upright relationship with Me. You will experience unparalleled joy that is not contingent upon your circumstances and situations. You will have overcome the world and its ways. You will finally have peace, the kind of peace that I have always intended for you to have.”

 Gal. 2:20a NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

Gal. 5:24 AMP

And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

Gal. 6:14 NIV

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Phil 3:10-11 AMP

10) [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11) That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

 

Paul’s devotion to the Gospel is heartwarming. As you study the verses in Philippians 3 above, try to see through the words and into the heart of this devoted man of God. There was no compromise for him. He was completely sold out to the desire of knowing his Master and Savior.  He wanted to know his Lord intimately. He wanted to understand exactly what had occurred at the cross and the resurrection.  He wanted to benefit from the power of the risen Christ, not for his own good; but for the sake of being changed into the image of his Lord. He wanted it all for the sake of the Gospel.

This relationship with Jesus is much more than going to church, giving to missions, praying, and talking about the things of God. It is a road trip to the complete death of our flesh. It is also an incredible journey to knowing our Lord and Savior intimately, if we choose to sell out completely to Him.

I believe that most of the church functions on the perimeter of the kind of relationship that Father God intends for us. Most of us do only as much as it takes to know that we are “safe” and on our way to heaven, when there is so much more available if we would only sell out completely. The thought of compromise never entered into Paul’s heart and mind when it came to His relationship with Jesus.  It shouldn’t enter into ours either.

Remove compromise from my life, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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4/05/23 Having It Together

Holding the offices of husband and father requires us to need God in every aspect of our lives. The more we understand our need, the more life we can impart to those we steward.

How capable would you be as a husband and father if you never went to God for wisdom? How would your wife and children fare if you were so prideful that you chose to never ask God who you really are and what you needed to live your life His way?

Having it together has little to do with having all the answers. Independence and the foolish notion of striving to become powerful in our own strength is the world’s way of doing things. That kind of attitude has been taught to us men from the time we were little. The “you can do it yourself” attitude is a dead end in God’s economy.

God desires us to need Him. Jesus did nothing unless He saw His Father doing it. Our safety can be in having the same kind of attitude. The veil in the temple was torn in two so we could have the freedom to submit our needs to the Lord. Acknowledging that we have needs and submitting them to our Lord to gain His wisdom is the epitome of having it together.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

 

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