Tag: study

Have you ever thought of your family as a fortress? God does! He has designed you as a husband and father to be a covering from all of the treachery offered by the world to devour your wife and children. A man, who is properly submitted to God, is equipped to lead those he is steward of to places of safety in all they do, and make the home an environment that nurtures, supports, and equips them to venture into the world again. The atmosphere he creates is an impenetrable fortress – a place of spiritual direction, safety, warmth, and love – for his family.

As a covering, part of your journey is to discover and repair any breaches in your family fortress, either those created by you or the attacks of the world. Once you realize that the enemy is relentless in the pursuit of your family – wanting them to conform to his ways, wanting your fortress to be compromised in any way possible – you will see your job description in a different light. You will understand how important it is to create a fortress for them, and look to God for help, wisdom, and strength. It’s your job.

What is so exciting is that He is waiting for you to turn everything over to Him for His guidance. As you are the covering for your family, He is the covering for you. He delights in making sure that you have all you need to fortify your family against any attack they may experience, as you seek and submit to Him and His power. He is not only worthy of your submission, He is an unbeatable covenant partner, allied with you against any attempt by the enemy to breach what He has put together.

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Jim Corbett

“Why should I help her – I don’t even like her!” Those poisonous words were said by one remarkably unaware parent to the other parent in front of a three or four-year-old child, while the child was having difficulty emptying her tray into the container as they were leaving the restaurant. It was very apparent that the two parents were at odds, and cared little who was observing their behavior, even their child. It was almost as if I could see a sword penetrating deep into the spirit of that little girl.

My food became less appealing as I pondered the plight of that little girl. It appeared as if this kind of comment was nothing new to all of them, so those kind of hurtful words and actions will probably continue for the next twelve or thirteen years. As the girl becomes stronger, more wounded, and more frustrated, her responses will become stronger, so separation upon separation will ensue until her rebellion and anger will cause her to leave. She will go about the business of inflicting the things she has been taught on others.

After much prayer and thought about the situation, I had to set aside my anger toward the parents to see what the Lord was telling my heart. This allowed my focus to change. He showed me that the parents were only doing what they had been taught to do by their parents, who learned from theirs, and so on. There are probably generations of wounded, unaware people dripping from the wounds they have received and have inflicted on each other in that family tree. This little girl’s life will eventually be a breeding ground for the same kind of careless words and actions that she is receiving, unless the Lord intervenes in the lives of her or her parents.

If you are a parent, guard your words and your actions toward your children. Make it your life’s purpose to protect their little spirits so that they can prosper in Christ. You and I have the opportunity to either provide a smooth path for their lives in Christ or have them reeling from our ignorance.

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Jim Corbett

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV) ” So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

As we look around our world as it impacts our daily lives and the stewardship of our family, there can be much cause for concern unless we can see past what our circumstances tell us, and on to what our loving Father is really doing. It is easy to listen to the boasts of those who think they are in power and forget who is really in charge.

Our God is still very much on the throne. Jesus is our Mighty Lord, and the Holy Spirit is causing all circumstances to be in line with the ultimate plan of God. Even those who curse God are being used to do His bidding the same as Pharaoh was in Moses’ time.

Looking beyond circumstances, there can be much joy if we see daily challenges for what they really are and understand that what God is doing is about mankind and our relationship with Him. Nothing has changed.

God has sent Jesus to restore the intended Garden of Eden relationship with Him. He is always after the hearts of those He has created. Once we accept the provision of the cross, He is always in the process of bringing us to an intimate relationship. Those who respond to that call are continually brought into challenging circumstances and refiner’s fires to burn the world out of them. These fires become more intense for those who want only Jesus and nothing of the world and its ways.

Today if you see past what is in the headlines or look beyond the difficulties you are personally facing and on to what God is really doing, you will find His love in action. To the unsaved He is giving a chance to embrace His love before He closes things down. To His children, He is calling them to Himself in preparation for the most wonderful time possible, the marriage supper of the Lamb. To fathers and husbands He is giving opportunity to repair the breaches in our fortress family.

Difficulties always bring need. Need forces us to cry out for help. Crying out for help to God always brings Him close and moves His heart. His bottom line is to make us like Jesus. Difficult times and refiner’s fires do that. Look past them and embrace what is really happening; it is for your eternal good. Are you willing to go through the fires?

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Jim Corbett

Do you have any idea how valuable you are to your Father God? I don’t think many of us men can really grasp the concept of a Father that loves us not for what we do, but just because we are valuable to Him. In fact, most of us look at the stewardship that we have been given only as an obligation that we will be held accountable for, without realizing that it is because He really cares for us, He chooses to trust us.

Some of us had an earthly father who demanded from us without the corresponding love and encouragement. We were told to live up to expectations to maintain some kind of worth in his eyes. Possibly because he never had any encouragement from his father, he wasn’t able to pass on what he had no knowledge of. Whatever the case, we spent our days attempting to prove our worth to him, and to anyone else for that matter.

God is not like that. He lovingly places value on us, value that is not changed by our actions good or bad, right or wrong. His kind of value is a wealth beyond our comprehension. It is placed on us simply because we exist and belong to Him.

If we ever really comprehend that concept, we can take on the powerful stewardship given us as husband and father with an incredible joy, knowing that our heavenly Father is not only for us, but covers our back when we blow it. In essence, His mercy and grace flow stronger to us and our needs when we turn to Him because we are out of answers. He guards us, protects us, loves us unconditionally, and guides us to truth, just because we are His. Maybe it’s time to bask in the value He places on us as we go about our days heading up our family, so we can pass unquestioned value on to them.

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Jim Corbett

How would you fare if you found out that nothing in this life is about you – nothing? What if you fully understood that there may be no Hollywood ending for you; that you were asked to burn yourself out for Jesus and no one will ever know about it? What if you were called to pour yourself and all that you had into others out of obedience? What if, in God’s eyes, there is really no other way to live?

As a father, husband, and man of God, your job is to seek out the life of Jesus and then live it out in front of those around you. That means that you do nothing of yourself or for yourself. It’s called the crucified life – a life of laying down your own for the best interests of others and for the glory of God.

Jesus overcame the world from the cross. Although that kind of life is foreign to us, He asks us to do the same. He asks us to provide a smooth path for our wives to become all that they can be in Christ. He asks us to guide our children to the life that has been bought for them from the cross. He asks us to be an example of Him to our friends and acquaintances. We are stewards of their precious lives. When we stand before Jesus He won’t be impressed about how much money we made, or how big a house we had; we will answer for the lives that God has placed in our path to direct and love.

How much time have you spent to find out what this life is really all about? The more you devote yourself to the Word of God and spend time in His presence, you will see that your life is to be spent for others, not yourself. That’s what the life of Jesus looked like. That’s what ours should look like. What does yours look like?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett