A Childlike Obsession with Joy, Prayer, and Thanksgiving.

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Childlike Faith

Do we rejoice in the Lord all day long? If so, we most certainly must be praying without ceasing. If this describes us then we should also be giving thanks for all that the Lord provides, and does, for us as our day proceeds. All three of these things, Rejoicing, Praying, and Giving Thanks, are all contained in a single sentence as Paul writes to the Thessalonians. They are joined for a reason, and are meant to lift us up in spirit... then unite us with the words Always, Without Ceasing, and All Circumstances, to show us the degree of their importance.

Reflecting God’s Image in the Midst of a Mob

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Individual

Jesus laid down his life for all of us collectively, but to a much finer point, he died for each of us individually. It is easy to disavow personal ownership in the ramifications of something when we are part of a crowd, but it becomes very clearly an individual matter when we form a personal attachment, or take a leadership role. Jesus died to save each of us as individuals, and we are each responsible for our own actions, salvation, and in maintaining covenant with Him.

The Two Lane Road of Thought and Practice

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional

Prayer and living make up a two-lane road. When we pray, we know enough to listen for God to answer, but that conversation isn’t the two-lane road we will speak of today... instead we will consider the impact our life is having on our faith, and prayers. How we pray influences how we live, and how we live has an incredible effect on how we pray. Can you have a terrible fight with someone, and then pray a sweet prayer over them? What we do in life each day also sets the tone for our relationship with the Lord.

Lessons in Loving; Answering in Humility and Kindness

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Loving Our Neighbor

One morning I was contemplating the humility and love I had for my fellowman. I asked myself a simple question to get at the heart of it... “do I humble myself before God in prayer, only to leave that humility in my prayer closet when I leave it?” So often I would see someone perform a single act of love or kindness for another and watch as they thought that by doing this one thing it defined them, but it takes more than that... loving our neighbors should be the rule of our life, not a one-off exception within it. We should show humility and love to all people… always.

The Sixth Sense and our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional

When we enter our time of devotion and read the scriptures, is our intention to study the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God, like a scientist would study a specimen in a lab? If we are pastors or teachers are we simply looking for eloquence and inspiration that can be used in our sermons and lessons? If so then we are treating our faith and our relationships with God like a tool, or as if they were something we might own, and not like the precious manna and love of our life that nourishes our soul and which we long, with all our heart, to be immersed in, and changed by.

Of Old Men, and Throwing off the Chains of Sickness.

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Healing

As a Christian, are we meant to be sick? What does the Bible tell us about what we should do if we are ill? Well, it isn’t a mystery and is spelled out very clearly. We are meant to be healed. Yet so many of us think that although Jesus and the disciples healed, that this is a dead practice today... well it isn’t. The gift of healing is just as alive today as it was in the time of Jesus, and it continues to happen in the Church today.

Resolving Conflict: Society, Worldly Politics, and Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Conflict

Are you a wanderer in Christ? By that I mean, did you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go down in the waters and spirit of baptism and then walk off into a spiritual desert? Well, if you did then it is time to come back from where you have been and rejoin the household, and the kingdom, of God. Like our savior, we are not meant to remain alone in the desert... are your 40 days up?

Walking a Pilgrimage through God’s Word

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional

Reading and remembering the Word of God is very important, but unless we actually do those things we have read then we have gathered nothing but useless knowledge. To be enamored by the words contained in the Bible without putting them to good use by doing God’s will in them is sheer foolishness. Do you live out the life you read? Do you not only hear God’s voice, but obey it?

Celebrating the Ever-New Presence of God!

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God in our Lives

As you move through your day do you feel God’s presence there with you? And, as you work to obey and perfect the character of Christ in your life can you sense Him abiding inside you as well? If you listen carefully you will find that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you of this closeness. Is your fear relieved at the very thought that all three of these are there with you right now? These questions should guide you, and the mere thought of the divine closeness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, should change how you live your life today, and cause you to refocus your priorities, and restructure your life, from this moment on.

Casting a Shadow on God the Father

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God’s Glory

04/28/2026 

Giving God the glory for those things He does through us can be a difficult thing to accomplish, and has been the undoing of many... including pastors. It seems the more gifts we have been given, and especially the more our natural gifts are, the harder it becomes for us to reflect the fullness of light back to its rightful star. You see, no matter how brightly a planet shines in the night sky, it is never truly the origin of the light... and likewise, no matter how great God’s will is manifest in us... we too are just His reflection.

Wonderful and Certain is our wait for the Lord

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Waiting on God

The conflicts and troubles in which we are most uncertain will all be won by our Lord because He is great beyond measure. How patient and faithful are we in His victory? Are we waiting in total confidence for Him to act? When those around us are challenging our patience in God we can be tempted to take matters into our own hands, and to abandon our assurance in His promise. However, in such times I look to scripture and hold tight to it… you should too.

Our Faithful Journey to Damascus, and beyond, with Paul

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Faith

We begin our journey with Jesus by believing in God because if we have no faith in the Father then how could we possibly believe He has a Son? Then, as our faith in God increases, and we believe the scripture is His Word regarding our existence with Him, we see the prophecy of the coming Messiah and find the promise of Jesus Christ. Every Jew in the day of Jesus had made it this far, but it is here that they were separated; some believing that the scriptures were alive, and some that they were at best stagnant, and that they would remain in eternal expectation of a Messiah who, although prophesied, might never be accepted by them to have come. In what state is our faith? How far has our belief come? Where is it going from here?

Listen now, Is God’s Voice Calling?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God’s Voice

Do you pray as you should, and when you Listen now, Is God’s Voice Calling?do pray, does God meet you there? When He does, people have a great deal to ask of Him and begin to do so immediately, but the most important aspect of our time of prayer is not what we say to Him, but what God says to us. The most powerful moment in most biblical accounts begins when the Lord speaks, but do we hear Him when He speaks to us personally? Are we even listening? Then, if we listen, how do we answer Him? Do we acknowledge Him at all, or just sit dumb in silence? So, if we do hear, how is it that  we respond? Do we say, “Yes Lord!”, or “Here am I Lord.”?

Load More