All in Christian

More than Dreaming of a Risen Christ

Richard Forbes
Jesus is Risen, Transformed, Daily Devotion, Christian, Belief, Faith

It is Easter morning, and the tomb is empty, but do you believe that our redeemer lives? This sounds like a ridiculous question to be asking a believer, but it might surprise you to know how many men and women proclaim faith by saying the right things regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but don’t live as if they believe them. They say He lives, but live as if He were dead. Job truly believed, and lived his life as if he did, but the apostles had to be convinced that Jesus had risen... which are you?

Holy Saturday, and its help in understanding our promise in Death

Richard Forbes
Jesus, Daily Devotion, Death, Promise, Christian

Today is Holy Saturday, and on this day Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, even as He was defeating death. What better time to confront our own bondage to death. Does the fear of death and dying cause you to quiver in fright, and to dread what lies ahead? Do you say you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet still harbor a terror of what awaits us in the grave? Friends, this is not a day of mourning, or fear, but one of rising celebration as the resurrection hovers near.

What is Good about Good Friday?

Richard Forbes
Promise, Sacrifice, Good Friday, Daily Devotion, Christian, Prophesy, Redemption

Why is it that we call today Good Friday? Why on this day of the flogging, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ do we choose to place the name Good Friday? Well, the term’s origin isn’t clear, so the original intent isn’t known, but we can surmise its meaning. Let’s discuss what, besides the horror of Jesus’ mistreatment and execution, occurred on this day.

Obeying God; the Scarlet Cord, and the Unlovable among Us

Richard Forbes
Daily Devotion, Christian, Details of God’s Will

Do we obey God to the letter, or do we take His commandments and rationalize them, or apply our own judgement to them? Do we use our own logic in determining that we should obey Him in one circumstance but not in another? If so then, although we try to convince ourselves to the contrary, we are placing ourselves above God. The little things, or uncomfortable ones, can be our undoing. Obey God in all things and always.

Are you a Christian? If so, how do you order your Day?

Richard Forbes
Through the Eyes of God, Daily Devotion, Christian

When you awoke this morning was your first thought to thank God for this day, followed swiftly by a look through the eyes of Jesus Christ? Does your day begin with a stretch, a cup of coffee, and reading the newspaper, as you determine the status of your physical life, or does it begin with a quick prayer, and a renewed following of Jesus? Every day should begin in thanksgiving, and with an invigorated spiritual accounting of our faithfulness.

God’s Word... A Wall before us, or a Ladder to Eternal Salvation?

Richard Forbes
God’s Word, Approaching, Daily Devotion, Christian

Don’t use scripture to build walls for your faith, use it to build a ladder on which you can surmount all obstacles, and reach the crowning glory of salvation and joy. How do you read God’s Holy Word? Do you read it looking at every verse for conviction, a roadblock to a happy life, or as if it were a bit in your mouth? Scripture is for instruction, but that instruction is to bring us love, joy, and into the presence of God; not to be an overbearing misery. How do you chose to approach scripture, and God?

The Truth Behind Hidden Secrets and God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Secrets from God, Daily Devotion

Do you open yourself up to God? Do you allow Him free access to not only your actions and superficial thinking, but to those thoughts that you believe to be personal and secret? Do you interact with God by revealing every intimate confidence to Him? When we lift ourselves up to Him we are changing the relationship we experience together; not on His part, but on ours. At the moment we lift ourselves up to Him we are acknowledging our trust in Him, and giving everything we are to Him freely.

Withstanding the Bully by Placing the Life of Jesus before Us

Richard Forbes
Withstanding the Bully, Jesus, Daily Devotion, Faith, Christian

In this day and age we talk a great deal about bullying. Being bullied by those around us can occur both physically and verbally, but verbal bullying cuts us much deeper. Jesus endured both kinds in His life, but predominately the verbal variety. So today, as we are made fun of, jeered, and cruelly denigrated, we should look to Jesus for our example of how to react to, and endure, such torture.

The Crown of Thorns, and our Hand on the Head of Christ

Richard Forbes
Hands, Sacrifice, Daily Devotion, Acceptable, Redemption, Sin, Christian

Don’t be afraid to lay your sins on the head of Jesus Christ. They will most certainly cut Him, and scar Him, but His love allows Him to endure this for you. This is the first act of making a sin offering, and was done before the blood of a burnt offering was taken, or the animal was killed and placed on the altar. Jesus likewise took the sins of man upon himself in the form of the crown of thorns. These are the sins of mankind... claim Him as your atonement; lay your hand on His head.

Abandoned, Depressed, and the Tempering of God’s Silence

Richard Forbes
Abandoned, Daily Devotion, Salvation, Christian, Depression

Are you filled with sadness and depression today? In particular, is there a void within you because of a feeling of separation from God? There is no loneliness greater than to be in a place without God’s presence, but if that is your feeling today then take heart, and call on the name of Jesus because He too walked through the valley of the shadow of death... just as you are now doing.

Pick up your Cross; the instrument of your Death, and Eternal Life in Glory

Richard Forbes
The Cross, Daily Devotion, Eternity, Christian

When we sit with a saint in their final hours of life and we witness the struggle as their body clings to life, we are inclined to wonder why they are being allowed to suffer in this way. Then, as they take their final breath, and the raspy rattle of death in their breathing grows silent, yielding to peace at last, we thank God for His mercy. Death comes in many forms yet whether in a slow release of breath, or in a sudden heart attack, there is pain, but then comes the peace, joy, and rest from the struggle. This is our homecoming with Christ; this is the transition from simply picking up our cross, to actually being placed upon it, and that which awaits us beyond.

Are we Listening, and Recognizing God’s Voice When we Hear It?

Richard Forbes
God’s Word, God’s Voice, Daily Devotion, Christian

When God sends a messenger to you in times of trouble are you comforted? When an Angel stands beside you and reassures you when you are frightened do you take heart? When you are in a bad spot, and God’s Word leaps from the pages of the Bible telling you not to fear, and that all will be well, do you have faith in that message? What about the whispered words of His will that come when all is well, and the night is still? Are you listening?

Prayer; Making Straight the Road of God’s Will

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Prayer, Straight, Way

Is there an open road between you and God, or must you traverse the wilderness each time you want to visit, or speak with Him? When we become a frequent visitor somewhere, we look to make a straight road to our destination, and pave it with smooth stones. This is what incessant prayer does for us... it takes a rugged and wild way, and builds a road through that wilderness of sin; it makes our traveling towards God, and His return visits to us smooth and easy.

Who are we that Witness the Sacrifice of Christ?

Richard Forbes
Character, Christian, Daily Devotion, Sacrifice, Faith

Do we who are sinners mock Jesus as we carry forth our sins towards imminent death? In these, the final days before Easter, do we look at the sacrifice of Jesus and forget that it isn’t just He who hung on that cross, but we as well? Jesus didn’t instruct us to pick up our own cross, and follow Him, simply as a symbol, but by it we will suffer, and die to this world, as He did... and if faithful, be resurrected alongside Him as well.

Lies, the Broken Glass within us, and the Leavening that Stifles Prayer

Richard Forbes
Daily Devotion, Christian, Facing Our Sin

Do you make excuses for your sins? Do you try to justify them in some concocted way hoping that God might have been looking the other way when you transgressed? Well, you might convince those around you, but the fact remains... their judgement of you counts for nothing. You might tell the lie long enough that you even forget the truth, but God’s memory is perfect. So now is the time to honestly face your sins, and go to your knees before God.

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