Love, the First Gift of the Holy Spirit

Richard Forbes
Love

The fruits of the Spirit are many, and wonderful, but the first of these fruits that Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians is love, and rightfully so. When we first believe, and receive the Spirit, love is the first of the Spirit’s fruits that we are filled with. After the love of God comes upon us then the rest are made possible, and the fruits of the Spirit begin to set us apart as Christians. Without love the others can’t exist in us. So have we been changed, and opened ourselves up to the love that is offered us through the Holy Spirit?

Paying the Price of Loving One Another with our Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Evangelism, Testifying

Once we have come to love those around us as Jesus has commanded us to do, how do we go about showing that love? We say that there is no greater love than to lay down our life for another, but do we understand the full meaning of this verse? There is also another way we can demonstrate our love that actually saves our life, and the lives the ones we love… that is to bring back a sinner from their wandering.

The Challenge we have in Loving One Another

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Loving One Another

Loving God, and Jesus, is easy because they love us so completely, and they want nothing but goodness, and the best for us; loving other believers can be a bit harder, because their love for us is human, and often flawed, but it is still relatively easy; however, when it comes to loving those who aren’t believers it can be quite a different thing, because these, who we are also told to love, may hate us, find our beliefs intolerable, and want every terrible thing to befall us. So today let’s ask ourselves… are we loving one another as we should, and as we are commanded to do?

Jews, Gentiles, Faith, and our Paths to Belief, and Heaven

Richard Forbes
Winnie-the-Pooh, Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith and Believing

Are you a self-proclaimed realist who doesn’t believe in things you are unable to see with your eyes, and touch with your hands? Do you doubt the goodness of food even though its smell makes your mouth water, and the sight of it is appealing? will you refuse to call it good until you have tasted it with your tongue, and felt it’s texture in your mouth? In the circle of faith we associate such behavior with unbelievers, but I am also describing many who call themselves Christians as well. They read God’s Word, and lean towards belief, but need to touch it like Thomas did. They wait on the cusp of their salvation for a salty sip of blood from the cup of Christ which will allow them to believe in earnest.

Do we love as we should?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Understanding Love

Do we understand what it means to live fully in the love of Jesus Christ, and God Himself? Do we see it as the driving force behind every interaction they have with us, and that we have with them? Do we live out that selfsame love in our own lives… pouring it out upon all those who we come into contact with? Sometimes we find ourselves reserving that love for those people and circumstances that we feel are worthy, and dole it out as if we only had a tiny bit to give, and that each drop is precious, but God’s love is unlimited, and this is the same love He gives to Jesus, and Jesus to us. Our love is indeed precious but its value is in its effect… not in its quantity… give it freely!

Eating the broken Body of Jesus… a messy affair

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Breaking Bread

When Jesus gave His disciples the bread of His body during the first Communion, He did not cut it with a knife, or have it prepared with a perforation so that it would break cleanly into pieces. Jesus took a loaf of bread and simply broke it. Unlike a wafer it didn’t snap cleanly, but tore, and it’s edges were jagged, uneven, and ripped asunder; it was a messy tear. This is how He died for us… He died just as we live and die… messy, torn, imperfect, and yet made to be righteous, by His sacrifice, resurrection, and our coming ascension upon His return.

Loving our Spouse, God, and Jesus, as we Should

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Loving God

Do we love God, and Jesus Christ, as we should, like we did when we first believed? Or, have we allowed the mechanics of our religion to become the focus of our spirit’s efforts, and lost sight of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? We say we love, but do we truly love our Father, or just the things we believe that we are doing for Him? Do we say the repetitive words in worship that we believe will honor Him, but find that we have abandoned our walks with Him in the cool of the evening? Have we allowed ourselves to become as the Ephesians?

Preparing ourselves for Prayer, and God’s Presence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Asking Forgiveness

How do we ask for forgiveness, or do we remember to do so at all? Do we think that God’s promise to forgive us makes facing our transgressions trivial, and that asking Him to forgive us has become a non-event? No, asking for forgiveness is not trivial, and it will destroy our relationship with the Lord if we are not careful about this part of our faith, and worship. God will certainly forgive us, but we must confess our sins with a contrite heart, being remorseful, and sincerely desiring to go and sin no more.

Jesus Loves Me - the poem, the hymn, and our promise

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Jesus Loves

We begin singing a simple hymn as children that contains a wonderful message for us, “Jesus Loves Me”. The lyrics were first written as a poem of encouragement for sick children, then they were included in the novel “Say and Seal” where they were read to a dying child, and later were set to music to become the encouraging hymn of love that is sung today. In whatever form these words have taken, the message never fades, and to this day we are encouraged by it, and comforted by the three simple words of its promise… “Jesus loves me”… and the affirmation of our belief… “this I know!”

By every word that comes from the mouth of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Word

Without the Word of God we are lost, and without His Son Jesus Christ we will remain so. God’s Holy Word teaches us of life, of Himself, and of His Son Jesus. It gives us His commandments, promises, and His assurance that we are not alone, but it also reveals our deep affliction in sin, and how precarious our life is relative to eternal death. Then, in our darkest hour, and deepest moment of hopelessness, comes Jesus, sent by God’s love, and prophesied of throughout God’s Word… our healer, savior, and redeemer who is the vessel of God’s amazing grace.

Battling Temptation, and our Escape through God’s Word

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Overcoming Temptation

As we live out our lives we find that we struggle day and night to reach, and then to maintain ourselves, in purity, and righteousness. Thankfully, we continue to grow in our maturity, and find ourselves strengthened all the more in our faith, and the maintenance of it, but let there be no doubt that even the spiritually aged, with all their knowledge and wisdom, still wrestle with the world for control of their souls. So how is it that the babies, and the young people in faith can dare hope to keep their way pure if their elders are struggling?

Consuming the Word of God, and Running the Eternal Race

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Consuming the Word

How often do we consume the Word of God? You will notice that I said consume, and not read, because merely reading it is not enough; God’s Holy Word is meant to nourish our soul, strengthen our spirit, and heal us of the wounds inflicted by the world. God’s Word is an inoculation against the pandemic of sin, and medicine that heals us body, mind, and soul from the spiritual wounds we might receive in life. Do we simply acknowledge the Bible, knowing of the Word, perhaps even rubbing a little of it on our skin, or do we take it internally as daily nourishment, medicine, and the knowledge that feeds God’s wisdom within us?

Do not fear, only believe!

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Fear and Belief

Some of us are just now beginning to know Jesus, while others have known Him for some time, and yet we can be challenged in believing, or some life event can cause us to struggle with our faith. Well this is not uncommon, and Jesus has an answer for what we are going through, He tells us to do two very straight forward things… don’t fear, and just believe. One of the dark one’s greatest weapons against our faith is fear, and another is to use our worldly reasoning to argue against a simple childlike trait that all believers possess… the innocent faith of a child.

Praying in Secret, and Working in Privacy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Secret Prayers

Are our prayers private conversations with God, or are they like public meetings, and announcements, performed as if we were politicians who must hold every discussion in a public place? Praying in secret is more than just keeping our faith hidden from the world, it is maintaining it as a private relationship with God that is not lived in public so that we would receive accolades from others; no, we are meant to please God alone. If those about us say “look at this man who shows little faith!”, and they say this because they are not privy to our quiet prayers and personal relationship with God, then count this as a blessing.

Walking, and Praying, in both Spirit and Flesh

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Spirit and Flesh

Through our belief in, and fellowship with, Jesus Christ we are freed from our sins. He, like us, is both body and spirit, and relates to us in an amazing, and loving way. He is both our High Priest, and sacrificial lamb in a single embodiment; given to us in the fullness of time, and in an instant. His name Jesus means “God Saves”, and His name Emanuel means “God with us”, together they make known that God has come amongst us to save us. He doesn’t come as many, but as one magnificent being, Christ, and in Him we find that the spirit and body have become one in perfection… united in the supercharged reality of the image God intended for us at creation… the spirit, body, and image of Himself He would call man.

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