God’s Church, and the Holy Spirit within Us

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Holy Spirit

One of the questions that I hear asked quite frequently is about the Holy Spirit. Every day Christian believers ask about him because they desire to know who He is, and what he should mean to them and their faith; while many Pastors ask about him to determine what side of the fence we are on. Much like Jesus He fascinates and enthralls us; he brings us to a place where we feel the coolness of the inhale, and the warmth of the exhale as God breathes, and yes, the Holy Ghost frightens many of us, and that fear often serves to separate us from one another.

The Lost, the Prodigal, and Returning Home

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Finding the Lost

When we recall the parable of the prodigal Son it is easy to forget that there were two sons, the one who squandered his inheritance and yet was welcomed home, and the son who remained steadfastly at his father’s side. Which one of these best describes you? The prodigal son gives us hope in our Father’s love when we are lost, or are frivolous with our faith, but the dependable son never lost his inheritance and never left his father’s side. Who would you rather be? Who would the prodigal son have wanted to be as he travelled the road home?

Golden Bowls of Prayers, and the Incense of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Tangible Prayers

Our prayers don’t just fade from the memory of God, they have substance, and can be held in the hand, placed in a bowl, and offered up with incense to Jesus, and God. Have you ever thought of that simple prayer you spoke as being worthy of saving? How about the ones you prayed in anger, or heartbreak, remorse, praise, or Thanksgiving? They are all borne in the hands of angels before the throne of God, and He values each one... they are your life, and they are the heart of your relationship with Him.

Of Time, Gardens, and the Apple Trees of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Wasted Time

Where do we spend our time each day? Do we waste it on frivolous pursuits, or in prayer? Do we read magazines about worldly subjects, or the Bible and other spiritually uplifting material? Do we seek out those places God wills us to visit, or do we wile away our time in ungodly places for no good purpose? How we apportion our time, the activities we pursue, and places we frequent determines how our faith will grow, and the fruit it will bear. Do we waste our treasure of time, or spend it wisely?

Miracles; the Breath of a Living God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Believing Miracles

There are many who study the Bible, and upon reading of the healings and other miracles contained there, they conclude that those occurrences were limited to the early days of faith and that those days must have been the “time of miracles.” These doubters convince themselves that we are not living in such a time today. Friends, there is no biblical foundation for such thought, as a matter-of-fact Jesus taught throughout His ministry by using miracles, just as we see in the Old Testament, and He also taught us that we too will perform and receive miracles today. In short, we still live in this so called “time of miracles.”

Sin, Righteousness, and Overcoming Our Nearsightedness

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Sin’s Limit

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t recognize myself to be a sinner. If this is not a humbling experience then I am certainly not mindful of God, and Jesus. Are you conscious of your sinful nature as well? If you are like me, do you work each day to live a life free of sin only to pray repetitively for forgiveness? If so, then like millions before us we are on the road to perfecting ourselves. I am saying this to you today just as the Apostle Paul confessed this same thought to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15) when he wrote openly of his struggle against sin to him.

Striking Out While at Bat against Sin

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Forgiven Again

How are we living our lives when it comes to those commonly sinful things of man? Have we put them behind us and become a changed person through our faith in Jesus Christ, or do we believe our past to be something that we just can’t overcome? Well, I am here to tell you that we can defeat the old man we once were, and that God not only desires this but has provided us unexpected help in doing so. That is why He gave us the game of baseball!

Faith in My Wrinkles, Trust Despite My Illness 

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Aging Faith

When we are young, we have a certain amount of confidence in our bodies and lean more on their ability to perform well and heal themselves, but as we age our faith in them wanes, and our trust shifts more and more towards God’s ability to heal us. When we are sick and have access to a doctor we find that our confidence is more inclined to be in the practice of medicine, but when no doctor is available, then our cry goes out to God. The challenge for the young is to have the faith of the old and the suffering of a patient in the hospital who prays the prayer of a poor and desperate soul. Do we find that our hope and faith in God reflects the strength of each age we have experienced… of the span of life?

Facing each Day, and Resting each Night

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God Provides, God Provides

How do you face the trials and hardships that we are in the midst of, or that we see coming? How do we pray each day when we enter our secret place? When we pray with our family do our words encourage them to let God take control of that one day, and not to fret over God’s provision for tomorrow? Trust is our strength in Him. Having faith that He is sufficient for today is enough.

Waiting, we are more than Watchmen for the Morning

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Watching the Tomb

It is Holy Saturday, and on this day Jesus lay in His tomb, but for us it is a time of waiting, of anticipation. Are we one of those who is comfortable waiting, or does it cause us to toss and turn anxiously in the night? In our relationship with God, we often find ourselves waiting for Him but how do we go about it... do we settle into a soft chair, or pace the floor? Let’s ask the Lord to give us peace and patience as we wait, because there are untold blessings in our waiting.

Good Friday, and “Thy Will be Done!”

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God’s Will

Do we seek out the will of the Father and obey it as we go about living each and every day of our lives? Do we say that we do the things which Jesus taught, and yet neglect to ask, seek, and knock on the door of God in search of His Holy will? If this is true then we are in dire straits, and Jesus will know us not when we stand in judgement. Nothing is more important to Him than to know and obey His Father’s will.

Wisdom, Knowledge, Intelligence; How Do We Pray?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Understanding God’s Will

Each day I begin my prayers with an expression of love for God, then a plea for His forgiveness of my sins, followed by my thanks for His many blessings, and next I ask for three things I would like to talk about today... wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence. Do you ask the Lord for these things? Not that you should receive them in a worldly way, but more-so in a spiritual sense... Do you desire supernatural enlightenment in understanding God’s will for you this day?

Pinocchio, Geppetto, Communion, and Heavenly Things

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, True Communion

Have you been purified? Do you acknowledge in communion that the blood of Jesus Christ has not only cleansed you of sin, but that it also purified you in preparation for an eternal heavenly existence? How often do we take communion and casually remember Jesus? Even worse, how many times do we take communion without thinking of Him at all? This is the danger of repetition, but if our repeated communion is performed with the proper spiritual preparation, it strengthens our memory and makes an act of faith, like that of communion, a holy and powerful one that enables us to perform it and believe in it perfectly each time.

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