Throwing off Sadness, and Hopelessness, for Eternal Joy in Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hope and Joy

Christianity isn’t burdensome, nor is it filled with somber tones and sadness. Our faith in Jesus is meant to be overflowing with hope, and all the joy and peace of God. His crucifixion is not the culmination of a life filled with hopelessness and suffering, but is a momentary shout of pain, and death, that was the means by which he shouldered the bitterness of the world and redeemed us. Through this we have come to realize the hope of ages. He passed through those brief days and then rose to a new and amazing height of joy. His words “It is done” are not words of defeat, but of joy and of a Hope now realized. In them His sacrifice was complete, He arose, and the joy, and hope, of all Christianity lifted up with Him to embrace us in the arms of God’s eternal joy and peace.

Living Water, the Living Spirit, and our Living Testimony

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Power in Us, God’s Provision, Inheritance

Living water flows from Jesus Christ, and we accept this readily, but we don’t consider often enough that this same living water flows from us. We hear that we should believe in Jesus, and that He is the living Son of God, but we don’t dwell so much on how the power of Christ abides in us. Scripture tells us that Christ abides in us, and we in Him, and as the truth of this becomes apparent to us, the further truth of His power residing in us becomes apparent as well.

Saved by Christ, and Sanctified by the Holy Spirit

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Sanctification , Soldiers, Holy

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to sanctify us, but do we treat his presence too lightly, and deny him the full access to our spirit that he requires to make this happen... to make us holy? Do we as Christians seek to become better men and women in Christ, but stop short of committing ourselves to the pursuit of holiness, and perfection, that should be our greater goal? Are we satisfied with doing enough to be saved, yet fall short of pursuing sanctification, and holiness?

Intellect, Spirit, Understanding God, and our Inheritance

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Understanding God

We are not meant to understand scripture with our intellect alone, but in a much deeper sense we are to engage God’s Word with our spirits. We can read that “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son” (John 3:16), and understand that it was out of love that Jesus was sent to us, but until our spirit reveals to us the depth and breadth of that love, and who Jesus is, then we don’t truly grasp the deeper meaning of those Words. We can’t feel that love as it was given, and enter into it. We need the Holy Spirit’s help in gaining this level of wisdom, and receiving this revelation.

Severing our Umbilical Cord to the World

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Maturing in Faith

There are those who profess a faith in Jesus Christ, and refer to themselves as Christians, and yet they live out their lives torn between heaven and earth by trying to be guided by the Spirit while allowing the world to influence them at the same moment. These infants in Christ have not come to grips with what a true life in Christ should look like. Perhaps, if we look at ourselves honestly, we too are like this in some way? We strive in the Spirit, and yet continue dragging our old life behind us like an anchor... an umbilical cord to the world.

Born of Water and Spirit we are anointed

Richard Forbes
Christian , Spirit Prayer, Holy Spirit

We pray, and as we do so we ask that the Holy Spirit guide us, but when we exit our prayer closet, or other place of prayer, do we leave him behind? Those who do so don’t understand him fully, and the impact he has on our daily lives. However, if we do know him better, and we feel him surrounding us all day long, do we think that he is just hovering about us as we do whatever it is that we do in the world? If so then we misunderstand our relationship with him; he is not meant to follow us about like a puppy, but we are to keep in step with him. Do we walk in the steps of the Spirit through our lives?

Doing Good, and becoming Perfect

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Good , Perfect

When God says something is good it is good, and when He says it is perfect that is true too. So it is that we strive to do good things because we seek to imitate the goodness of God, and we are confidant we can be good, but why is it that when we are told to be perfect we quake with fear, feeling that perfection is beyond our ability? We fear perfection even though scripture tells us there are others who have been perfect. So, if only God is good, but others have been perfect, then why do we feel that we can actually be called good, but never perfect?

The Hope that God’s Love Brings Us

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hope

We are never disappointed by our hope in the glory of God, but if we do not revel in the love of God, as poured into us by the Holy Spirit, then where is our hope founded? We have faith, we have love, and we are meant to have hope... but where are we without the confidence in His glory that His love brings? Are we open vessels, ready to receive the free gift of God’s love as His Spirit pours it into us? If so then His glory will shine from within us, and our hope in Him will become certain.

Loving, Seeking, and Finding the Holy Spirit

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Seeking the Holy Spirit

We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and as we learn to do this we long to know Him all the more. God’s desire is that in this way we commit ourselves to Him completely. We use our ever increasing love to seek Him out in every aspect of our lives. Our complete love becomes a means of not only worship, but knowing Him, and dedicating ourselves fully to Him, and His will for us. It is by seeking that we come to know the Holy Spirit.

The Power of Relationship, and Fellowship, within our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Relationship, Fellowship

There are individual aspects to our faith that are undeniable; we must personally decide to believe in, and worship, God, and individually we must be called to Jesus as the Son of God, to live our lives in faith, but these individual acts of belief guide us into something more, a relationship with God, and Jesus Christ. Even further than this, our singular actions of dedication, and faith, are meant to bring us into fellowship with one another. The Holy Spirit brings us together in this way through our love, and faith. Do we have this fellowship, or are we wandering alone in our faith?

God’s Temple, One Flesh, and our Morning Chores

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Temple

When you opened your eyes this morning, and you wiped the sleep from them, did it feel like you were pulling back the curtains in God’s home, and cleaning the windows of His temple? Did you feel like a child who was doing his morning chores before being called to the breakfast table where he would run into his Father’s arms? Well, our bodies are the dwelling place of God, and also His temple, so this is a good way to think of how we should approach the earliest moments of our day.

God’s Pursuing Love, and Presence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Pursuing Love

We are told to study the Word of God, and increase ourselves in faith, but in this endeavor we are not alone. As we strive for righteousness through our faith we have the supporting love of God, the intercession of Jesus, and the constant prayers, and actions of the Holy Spirit. We repeat God’s promise that we are never alone, but do we realize how relentlessly active He is in pursuing that promise? He doesn’t just say that He is with us always, nor does He walk quietly behind us as we go about our lives, no, He pursues us... even reaching into our most egregious sin to extract us.

The Holy Spirit, and our Keys to the Power of Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Power of Christ

What did Jesus say about the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that should thrill our souls? He told us that the Spirit would not only glorify Him, but declare Him to us. In the Spirit we will see and know Jesus clearly, and will also receive those things that God the Father has given to Jesus. Are we ready to glorify God, and through our belief and faith in Jesus to receive what God gave Him to be His? Can we even comprehend what this means?

Praying the Word of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Living God’s Word

Is the Word of God alive in us? Do we value it like fine gold, but seek to hold it close to us like a warm and breathing newborn infant? So often we look at the words on a page, or computer screen, and lose sight of their power, and the life in them. God’s Word is more that ink, or a Pixel on a screen... it breathes life into us, and as we study, and pray, it becomes the voice of God within us. When we incorporate it into our prayers it instills His will into our desires, and heals us with His touch... can we truly say that God’s Word is living in us?

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