My Grandchildren, and being taught contentment in Godliness

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Godliness , Contentment

Are we meant to be content in our godliness over all that the world has to offer? When faith in Jesus has led us, and the Holy Spirit has revealed to us the character of God, do we find ourselves living at ease in our godliness? Though Satan tempts us with wealth, power, and a life founded in the world, there is no true happiness in them, and we are never content in all that we have. We flit like hummingbirds from blossom to blossom all the days of our lives. However, godliness breeds contentment, and a lasting peace, that instills in us an overwhelming joy... each of these being eternal.

Diversity, the Transformed Church, and the Glory of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Diversity , Glory of God , God’s Glory

By our faith in Jesus Christ, and His desire that we take His gospel, and the Word of God, into all of the world, we have become the glory of God. We, as the varied and amazing Church, have become an example before all of heaven of the immense diversity and creativity of our Heavenly Father. So now in this present age it is meant for us to come together in all our many colors, and various fabrics, to become the beautiful tapestry of God’s design which bears the perfect image of Jesus Christ... His Son.

Wishing Harm, and the Worst, upon our Enemies

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , patience , witnessing

Have we ever wished that someone would face harm, or been happy when calamity struck them? Does watching a powerful person fall, or a politician we dislike meet with some terrible misfortune, bring us satisfaction? This is the nature of the world today, and sorrowfully it is an indictment of many Christian hearts as well. We wish that not only harm, but great harm, would befall those who don’t agree with us, and either openly, or deep in our hearts, we don’t want them to be conformed to Christian thinking, but to face disaster. We neglect God’s desire to redeem them as we long for their demise.

Resisting the Subtle Bait of Temptation

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Temptation

Do we claim to be Christians, saying that we value The Word of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but keep being led astray by our past passions, and the desires of the flesh? Are we receiving manna from heaven, but continue to think, and dream, about the way our old lives smelled or tasted? We can successfully resist making a meal of the great sins we once knew, but what tempts us most is the lingering scent of them... the small tastes, and pleasures that lead us time and again to the physical doorway of those sins. We crucify the sin, but do we nail the temptation of them to the cross as well?

Increasing in Faith by Anticipating the Coming Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , New , Aging In Faith

Are we growing more Intense, and diligent, in our faith with each passing day, or do we approach it like children who become tired with the same toys over time? When we allow ourselves to simply go through the motions of faith, and to lose sight of the immediacy of it, then we can’t possibly experience the fullness of God’s joy, or feel the love that radiates from Calvary. Do we rise each morning in wonder, that is, do we lift our faces towards the heavens thinking that we are a day closer to the coming of Jesus?

The Truth about Men, Antelope, and becoming Prey

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Call , Rescue, Sin, Truths

We are tempted to believe that it is by our own efforts we have come to know God, and Jesus Christ, but in fact we have been sought out. No, we didn’t invite that divine knock at our door, nor God’s call to us. We might believe that we stumbled upon the idea of God, or by some stroke of luck heard about Jesus Christ, but that is a deception we have concocted to serve our vanity. God calls us, woos us, receives us through Jesus Christ, and then guards us in our faith to be with Him in eternity.

Abba, and our Loving Father’s Eyes.

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Parenthood

God diligently keeps His eye upon us, but our worldly life can often distract us from looking to Him as we should. There is not a second in the day when we turn towards Him that His eyes aren’t watching us. Furthermore, He is not merely looking at us, but there is a loving interest and intensity to His gaze that makes us want to please Him more. So what are we doing to deserve those moments when we notice His eyes, and our hearts fill to overflowing, not with the love we have for Him, but that He Has for us. Have we earned the lessons He teaches us, or the love He has towards us? What is it that He sees in us as we are led towards eternity with Him that links us so completely?

The Who, and What, in questioning God, and the Danger in Why

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Questioning God

If you were taking a walk, and a voice suddenly told you to “cry out“, what would you say? Would you pick some arbitrary exclamation, and shout it, or perhaps tremble, and ask, “Who is this?”, or, “Lord, what would you have me cry out?”. Some believers feel that it is always presumptuous to ask questions of Jesus, or God, but as we read scripture we find that if we ask, and do so in the proper way, it doesn’t bother either of them at all. God wants us to understand what He would have us do, and to ask Him questions until we do; Jesus feels the same.

Sailing a Sea of Sin in a Ship of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian, Worldly Sin

We live in a sin-filled world, and in such a place as this God sent His precious Son Jesus to redeem us; to save the lost souls that we are. Into the very dwelling place of sin, evil, corruption, and death, He sent His child, a baby, His gift of life. His love was manifest in grace for you and me, and His perfect Son was made imperfect on the cross, being given over to sinners, taking on our sin, and sacrificing Himself, so that we might have life everlasting through Him. So, how are we receiving God’s love, His grace, and such a gift as this... His Son?

Worldly Battles, do they mask the Spiritual War for our Souls?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Spiritual , War

When Satan comes against us in the world he looks for the chinks in our armor, but our defenses are complete in the perfect protection of God. Our fear of the dark one comes because we don’t understand the war being waged. We think that victory or defeat depends on the earthly wounds we sustain in mortal battles, and we assign might to others by what occurs in the here and now. Yet, though our bodies, loves, and possessions might suffer, and though we be pierced while upon our crosses, these wounds are of little consequence because the war is not over our physical selves, but for the disposition of our souls.

Are we meant to Fear Death?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Fear , Death

We are not meant to be frightened by death, nor to dread its coming. We know that what awaits us when we arrive in our heavenly home will far exceed anything we can imagine, and that our peace and joy there will be unquenchable. So knowing this, do we take heart in the thought that it is ours to die? Do we long to be forever in the presence of God and sitting with Jesus? Does this thought drive us on towards the perfection of our faith, and a love of God that allows us to serve Him fearlessly in this our mortal life?

Are we Bored, and Lost, even having gained all the World has to offer?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , True Faith, Wealth

Do we believe ourselves to be self-made men and women? Do we look around and see all of the affluence that surrounds us, and stare in the mirror; smiling at our own reflection? When we find that we want for nothing, and have become smug in what we have done, it is in our self-righteousness that we are truly lost. What the world has to offer is fleeting, and satisfies us for a day, and yet we can become addicted to its allure, and lose sight of God, Jesus Christ, and the satisfaction they give that is eternal.

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