Fear and the Silencing of God’s Glory

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Faith

Have you ever received divine healing, or perhaps known someone who did? When this occurred did you praise and glorify God? If not, why not? Have you heard tell of people who were miraculously healed, and yet even though you are a believer you were skeptical, or doubted they were ever sick in the first place? If so, then why? In our modern society, we are reluctant to acknowledge God when healing occurs... why is this so? It is because our faith is under attack by unbelievers and we have succumbed to their influence. It is Fear in some form.

Our Complacent Faith, and Fear as We Awaken from It

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Faith

Are we being a disappointment in our faith, and worrisome to God? This is one of those questions we should each ask ourselves from time to time. Ephesians 4:17-32 contains guidance for us pertaining to the new life we are living in Jesus Christ. The question then becomes, are we living it fully as the Holy Spirit reveals and teaches us, or are we causing our God to grieve over us instead?

Understanding God’s Word by Becoming Humble at Christ’s Feet

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Humility

When we sit at the feet of Jesus are we spiritually and intellectually malleable and teachable? Do we humble ourselves and listen intently to His every word, or do we think we know it all, as we keep interrupting Him with our own two cents? Jesus was gentle and humble when He taught, and we are meant to be this way too as His pupils. So, how do we approach our spiritual instruction? Let’s think about how we approach Him and our lessons and then ask ourselves “Am I teachable?”

Loving, and Brushing the Bitter Film from our Tongues

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Loving Our Neighbor

How are we walking through this life? Are we doing so while loving our families, perhaps some folks at church, and a few friends, but simply tolerating everyone else, or maybe even disliking some people we encounter? We divide ourselves into groups... we belong to this church and not that one, we are from this town and not that one, we believe this and not that, we are of this race and not that one, and the list goes on, and on. We love some, tolerate others, and dislike or even hate the rest. Does this describe us? Let’s step back and take a good look in the mirror and be honest about what we see because our salvation depends on it.

Strength from Trust, and God’s love and will in the Quiet Places

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Quiet Faith

What does it mean when scripture tells us to rest, be quiet, and trust the Lord? How does it sit with us when it says that this is our strength, and our salvation? To us this sounds so foreign because we feel like there must be something that God would have us do. We want to be actively involved like the young David who used his sling to slay Goliath. Yet in many scriptures we are told that by just sitting in the presence of God, and waiting on Him we will experience our greatest strength... and so often we resist this... we are unwilling.

Waiting, Patience, and the Music it Becomes in our Lives

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Waiting on God

Does waiting on God seem tedious to you? Perhaps it has become this way because you have the idea that He is doing nothing while you wait, and that He continues to do nothing until at long last, in a moment suited to His own good pleasure, He suddenly cares enough to act. Well, nothing could be further from the truth, and waiting should be an active effort on our part in which we patiently watch Him at work.

Sin, the Pot of Tar, and the Power of Holiness

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Being In The World

When we have fully accepted the Holy Spirit to reside within us we are declared to be a child of God... not by our human birthright, but by the power which comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is at that amazing moment of acceptance that our spirit receives the entirety of the power promised to Christ’s disciples, and now to us. Are we prepared to submit fully to The Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and to our Father’s will; or perhaps we have already done so?

Giving Ourselves Over to God’s Perfect Will

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Perfection in Faith

We think we are righteous, after all we have been working at it diligently for quite some time, maybe all our lives, and yet we are failing at pretty much the same frequency that we always have... so what is wrong? Why is progress in our faith so slow, or stalled? I am going to ask each of us to consider a simple question that might possibly drill to the heart of this struggle... Are we continuously seeking Jesus on our own, or have we said to him “here I am Lord, teach me, I am yours.”?

Our Spiritual Gifts, and the Soul/Souls they Save

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts, they are so misunderstood. Are you one of those who believes that you have no spiritual gifts? Do you watch as others exercise the gifts they have been given, and become despondent because you think that you have been passed over? Well, I pose this question to you... what have you prayed for? Have you asked God to show you His will for you, and then after receiving that answer, asked for the ability to accomplish it? As part of giving you the ability to do His will you will receive spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit to help you along the way.

Removing the Dimmer Switch from our Prayers

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Fullness of God

08/16/2026

 

Do we realize that the fullness of God is available to us? Has anyone ever prayed for us and asked that we be granted spiritual power? Have they asked in prayer that Jesus dwell within us and that we be filled with the fullness of God? Well, if we are to follow the example set by the Apostle Paul then we should be praying and receiving that prayer, because this is precisely what he prayed for all those at the church in Ephesus. Fellow Saints, Pastors, Priests, Reverends, and Deacons, you should pray in this way for your fellow believers, parishioners, members, and churches today! Let’s listen to the apostle Paul…

The Great Vigneron, and the Eternal Vine

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Jesus the Vine

How great is our dependence on Jesus Christ? Is He the source of everything in our life; spiritual and physical sustenance, a firm foundation amidst the storms, the basis of emotional and mental wellbeing, and our guide to eternity with God? We should look to God for all things, and to Jesus, His Son and our intercessor, to bring us, and each of our prayers, before the Father. Do we do that in every aspect of our lives, or do we envision ourselves to be like a self-sufficient plant that is growing alongside Him?

Praying for others at the height of our own Calamity

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Praying for Others

In the midst of our own troubles do we think to pray for others? When we are suffering, or the enemy is knocking at our door, do we ask God for help, and then include our neighbors in that prayer as well? It is hard to think beyond our own circumstances when the situation is dire, because our true nature is a selfish one. Can we overcome the “ME” in our prayers long enough to lift up a stranger as we ask for personal deliverance? While we are waiting on God, we should try spending some of that time in prayer for others who are facing trials and hardships of their own... maybe while we are waiting on God He is waiting on our intercession for another.

Answers, and our Stifled Prayers

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Answered Prayers

What is it about praying that we value the most? Is it the time spent with God? The comfort that it brings us? Knowing that we are being heard? Realizing that we are never alone? Or perhaps in the way we find joy in praying for others? The list goes on and on doesn’t it... but the one thing that will stifle our spiritual lives more than any other is making the answer to our prayers paramount as we gauge their success according to how they meet OUR expectations. What if I were to tell you that success in prayer is not just receiving the expected results we have dictated to God while praying OUR will as we direct Him in exactly how to answer us?

Faith and the Pebble of Belief

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Faith and Belief

Do we fear for the souls of our children? Does the strength of their faith as it is opposed by all the sin and evil in this world worry us? No matter who we are, the love we have for our children brings us concern for their salvation. Given this, if one of our children died and Jesus miraculously healed them, what would our immediate reaction be? Wouldn’t it be to fall at His feet in gratitude, and then to tell everyone about what He had just done to make believers of them! Wouldn’t it be to shout to the world that this man Jesus Christ was a miracle worker, and to tell them that He was the Messiah? Well, what if He told us to keep that amazing miracle and revelation to ourselves… how hard would that be?

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