Peace and Victory; this is the view from our Cross

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Victory in Jesus

After becoming Christians do we still feel threatened by the world? Do we allow what is in the world to have any remnant of undefeated rule over us? As victors in Christ, what more can the world do to us that we mustn’t grant it the power to do? On the cross Jesus overcame the world, and as He did, we overcame it as well. So now we must ask ourselves... are we living out the victorious life that has already been won for us? Do we realize that death has no dominion over us, and that fear is banished from us by the love of God?

Loving Jesus, and Feeding His Sheep... as our very personal chore

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Intimate Relationship

Do we look up at the cross and upon seeing Jesus dying there do we think “He is doing this for all of mankind.”? This is a true thought, but Jesus didn’t simply die for “mankind”... He suffered, died, and was resurrected for you and me individually. Until we realize that His relationship isn’t limited to the grand notion of a tribe, nation, people, or even the world, we can’t possibly understand how intimate our salvation is, and that He abides fully in each of us.

Living our Life like Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional ,

Do we desire to be more like Jesus with each passing day, and if so do we really know what He was like? Sometimes we think we know Him when we don’t; we take a human trait that we personally admire and attribute it to Him, but as we do so we are elevating Him in our own minds. When we do this we are in fact glorifying ourselves by modifying Jesus to accommodate an image we have of ourselves.

Is Jesus just another Temple Lamb without blemish or spot?

Richard Forbes
Christian , A Curse

Paul tells the Galatians that Jesus redeemed them by becoming a curse for them. This is strong language and we prefer to say that He took on our sins so that we might be redeemed and forgiven. This milder expression is true, but by using the gentler language we are sidestepping the harsher reality of what happened to Him here... He not only took on the legality of having sinned, but He assumed the horror, flagrant filthiness, terror, and terrible evil of sin as well... He became the fullness of sin... He became the curse for us.

Without flowers there can be no fruit.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Bearing Fruit

According to the gospel of Jesus, He is the vine and we are the branches of that vine, and being branches, we are to bear the fruit. This is a beautiful image and over the years much has been said, taught, and written about the attributes of the fruit, and what it means for us to bear that fruit. However, today let’s talk about what adorns us as branches before the fruit arrives, and the role we ultimately play in bring forth this fruit... let’s behold the flowers. Not all fruit is good to eat alone, and likewise, not all flowers are beautiful, or smell sweet, but we can tell what fruit we will eventually bear by the flowers that bloom on our stems.

Blessed are those who mourn, and the Comfort of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Mourning

We go to funerals of friends and family with hearts aching, or broken, suffering in our loss, but in times such as this we are led back to the Sermon on the Mount, and the words that Jesus delivered in the Beatitudes... specifically the second of these when He said: “Blessed are those who mourn.” Our tears are never to be held back, nor is our pain to be trivialized because in this place and at this time we are to receive the comfort of God.

Preparing the ground we sow our seeds of faith on

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Preparing for Faith

In the parable of the Sower, we see that the success of our faith is being compared to the growth of seeds, and that their bounty depends on the soil on which they are sown. So today we need to look at the quality of the soil where our faith is being planted. Some of us feel that we have been walked on all our lives, and that we are too hardened to ever accept faith; some feel that our lives have been rocky and we are too course and lacking of goodness for faith, and some see nothing but briars and weeds surrounding us and think we are unsuitable for faith, so we feel lost before we start... but all is not lost, and there is hope for us all.

Together we find strength in God, Faith in Christ, and encouragement against sin

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Gathering Together

As many churches meet remotely due to COVID-19 we are tempted by Zoom meetings to continue coming together in this way, but as we walk the path of our faith we often find ourselves confronted by temptation and evil along the way, and facing these challenges alone is a frightening prospect. We are at our weakest when by ourselves, and that is precisely why Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness; he felt his best chance to overcome Him was while He was wandering by Himself, but in reality Jesus was never alone, and neither are we... God is with us always.

Restoration; How do we pray to be made ready... restored?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Restored

Do we cry out today for God to restore us? Even as we do, are our churches failing, and our prayers losing the sweet smell of incense as they fall back flat into the golden bowl, and their smoke sinks down towards the ground where we stand lacking? If so, then what are we asking God to restore? Are we asking for relief from plague, renewed health, happiness, wealth, power, or some other earthly blessing? When we pray, our prayers should be lifted up for the restoration of our faith... not our bodies or worldly desires. Make your hearts to long for a restoration of faith, the coming of Christ, and to serve and glorify God!

What road do we travel, and does it lead to God who owns us?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Belonging to God

So many people take pride in going their own way in life, but as Christians we forego that in order to serve God as Jesus did. We are not our own, but belong to God, and we find great pleasure in that. What’s more, we were bought at a very high price, having been redeemed with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so that in our lives we would glorify God. If we profess to be Christians and do not yield ourselves to His will, then we must question our faith.

Are we convicted by our inconsistent Love?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Love

After accepting God as our Lord, and Jesus as our Savior, we find ourselves able to love those around us as God loves, and to love the Father as Jesus did. We are blessed in this way because we have become the sons and daughters of God, and bear not only His name, and image, but His Spirit within us. Yet, we are still challenged by our old selves as Satan continues his attempt to reinsert it into our daily lives. Are we able to resist the old person, and hold firm to our new transformed self as we should?

Encouraging, and being Encouraged in our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Encouraging in Faith

Are we encouraged in our faith to the point where we are busy about its business at all times? When we reach the point of fainting, or our strength begins to fail us, where do we turn for help? Do we look to God? How about our fellow believers? In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians he instructs them to help and encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ when they are faint, or weak, and to warn or admonish them when they are idle or slothful. When we look at ourselves do we find Paul warning us, and telling us where to turn, or is he encouraging us to be prepared to help others in strength and faith when they are failing?

The nails, fasteners, and mortar, that perfect our faith, and marriage

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith and Marriage

Have we asked Jesus if we can abide in Him, and have we invited Him to abide in us? It is one thing to know someone, and to look forward to seeing them, and to be with them every day, but it is quite a different thing to live with that person in the same house. Living together requires that we adjust to each other’s ways, and that is exactly what Jesus wants us to do... to become more like Him. In this way we find that we begin to do the same good things that they do, but it also reveals our shortcomings to us.

What is that one “Thing” we search all our Life for?

Richard Forbes
Daily Devotional , Seeking God

We all go through life searching for something that will define who we are, and that lifts us above whatever station we find ourselves in. Some of us believe that “Thing” to be earthly, or a way of life concocted by men, and some believe it is a secret waiting to be discovered deep within themselves, but in fact there is only one source of truth and enlightenment, one place to turn for righteousness, one way of life that is holy and lifts us up, making us better, and giving us eternal goodness and peace... God... and we are led to Him by just one “Thing”... having faith in Jesus Christ.

Do we fear death? Can we wait for it’s arrival?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Fearing Death

As a Christian we shouldn’t fear death; not because we won’t feel pain when we physically die, but because we have already died, and our life is hidden in Christ. Our death will be as His was, but thank God it will include a resurrection like His, and we will receive a glorified body as well. How can we possibly fear a death that ends with Jesus Christ, and standing in glory before the throne of God?

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