Don’t let your Thanksgiving be swallowed by the storms of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Thanking God

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and it is a day when we join together across the nation to thank God for all of His many blessings during the past year. For some of us this has been a particularly hard year. We have lost loved ones to COVID-19, and had our families divided by contentious politics, but neither of these hardships, nor our other challenges, have been too great for God to overcome. So put away your mourning, broken hearts, and bitterness, as we thank God for the blessings we have received this year instead... even if you live elsewhere around the world, use this opportunity to thank God, and praise Jesus today for the many blessings in your life.

Trusting in the Goodness that resides within God’s Will

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Goodness , Doing God’s Will

Some believe that we should obey God simply because He expects us to, and in some cases it appears to us that this is His desire, but later, in retrospect, we find that what God asked of us, His will, was for our ultimate good all along. Our Heavenly Father is not arbitrary, and all that he does, and asks, is for a purpose; for our good. Thus the question becomes this... do we trust in Him enough to do those things He asks of us even when we don’t fully understand, or see the good in them?

Prayer, Praise, and Worship, in our quiet predawn hours

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Morning Prayer

How should we begin our days as Christians? There are so many verses in the Bible that give us instruction regarding our faith as dawn approaches, and as we look towards the life of Jesus we find that He rose early each morning to pray, and was resurrected in the predawn darkness as well. So how should we meet OUR new day? Well, we should use the example set by our savior, and the songs of Psalms whose lyrics, and melody, are the sounds of early morning worship.

Attempting to Cover our Sin with a Lie

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lies , Sin

Do we accept responsibility for our sins, or are we like a lying child who won’t face something he has done, choosing to make an excuse, or blame it on another instead? When we have succumbed to the snare of temptation, and done a wrong thing, we will certainly face the punishment for it, we will get our just desserts, and yes, we will have fallen into a hole that we dug for ourselves. So how often is it that we deny our sinfulness, hoping that we can escape the inescapable judgement of God... only to be discovered in the act, and called to task for it?

His will, or our will; which is it that glorifies God?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Will , Hardship and Suffering

In the course of our faith we have contemplated our travail, tribulation, and the trouble they present us. Jesus thought on this same subject, and after having reached an understanding of their importance to faith He concluded that He would not ask God to save Him from it, but acknowledge God’s will in it. Are we courageous enough to face what lies ahead before us, and grasp, as Jesus did, the purpose God has for us in our suffering?

Lessons of Faith learned through Suffering and Affliction

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Affliction

We suffer through the afflictions of a life in this world, and we pray for God to release us from them, but do we learn anything from the effort? Do we not only see the hardship, and thank the Lord for helping us, but also recognize the lessons of faith that He has taught us? Our suffering is only the beginning of a profound instruction, are we looking for it and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us?

Heroes of Faith through the gospel message and our testimony

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Significance

Just as by the disobedience of Adam all men were made sinners, and through Christ, one man’s obedience, the many were made righteous, so it is that by our singular lives we can each have an impact on all of creation. Some of us are tempted to believe that we are insignificant when in fact our one life’s force can ripple through all that comes after us, and quite often we don’t even realize it.

God will restore us when we have turned from Him

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Faded Faith , Restored

Even if our faith should fade away from us, and we find that our prayers are less fervent, or we turn away from our daily walks with our Father, He might scatter us, but will never abandon us. Even in a decrepit state such as this He makes a way home for those who are lost, but we must search after Him like Jesus seeks the one lost sheep. If we look for Him with all our heart and soul we will find that our Lord God never hides from us and waits faithfully for our return.

Do you find yourself searching for faith in the darkness?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Faith

Even in the midst of our greatest laments the Lord is with us in the fullness of His love. We might feel inclined to believe that we have been abandoned, but His love never ceases, never comes to an end, and refreshes us each day as His radiance shines bright upon us. There are times when His cloak is made to cast a shadow over us so that our spirit might shine on it’s own from the darkness, and what was once unnoticed in the brilliance of His presence is allowed to strengthen and shine forth from the night.

In our prayers for healing or raising the dead, know God’s will.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Healing Prayer

Do you have COVID-19, or some other deadly disease, and wish to overcome it? If so how are you praying, or better put; are you simply praying that the suffering be lifted from you or are you praying that your sins be forgiven, your life comes to reflect the will of God, and that God would heal you to serve Him more? When we hurt and are sick, or afraid of death, it is so easy to pray for relief without confessing our sins, asking forgiveness, and repairing the state of our soul within God’s will.

Giving God thanks in all things and for every blessing.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Thanking God

Do we thank God for all the comforts He provides us? We seek out the Lord in times of affliction, or trouble, and thank Him when He gives us relief, but how easy it becomes to accept the blessings that he gives us without any hardship, and forget to thank Him. When things come easily, and comfortably, we should thank the Lord all the more diligently for His blessings, because these are the comforts of Christ.

My heart is broken, and spirit is crushed, yet the Lord is mercifully near to me

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Money, God, Faith

In today’s world of religion the mantra is often that “God helps those who help themselves”, and that Jesus makes the righteous wealthy, but the truth is that God’s ear is attuned to those whose spirits are crushed and who are broken-hearted. His mercy is rarely focused on worldly things, but is applied liberally to redeeming us, and easing our suffering.

Are you bravely sharing what God is doing in your life?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Testifying

Are we afraid to tell others what God has done for us? Do we fear that they might think we are singing our own praises because He has done so many wonderful and amazing things in our lives? Well we couldn’t be more wrong than to remain silent because the Lord deserves our open praise, and worship before all people, and nothing lifts Him higher than to speak of all He has done for us.

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