Patience and Endurance in the Hour of Trial

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Patience and Perseverance

Are we capable of waiting on God without it harming our faith? Is our patience short lived, and our perseverance nearly nonexistent? In this modern era of instant gratification in which everything is about ourselves, and what we want, patience and perseverance are very rare commodities it seems. There is no place that this is any more evident, nor damaging, than in our spirituality, and faith. Yet despite this, God continues to ask us to be patient as we wait on Him, and to persevere in our belief by loving, remaining faithful, and trusting in Him. But are we so conditioned to expect everything we want right now that our faith fades when we go through periods of quiet? Are we able to love, and worship our God, when what we ask of Him is a long time in coming?

From where does my help come?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trusting God

As Christians we need to behave different from the worldly, and in times of joy, or trouble, we should always trust in the Lord our God, and rejoice in the company of fellow Saints who follow Jesus. Those in the world will turn to other men when they are in trouble, and look to their kings and governments to provide for them, and feed them, when they are hungry, but ungodly men who hold out one hand with food or help, will extend the other for payment, and those who celebrate in the world, do so with the unbelieving who drink to excess, revel in sexual sin, and sing songs espousing lies against God, Jesus, and Their commandments.

The Inspired way to our Belief, and our very Personal walk of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith , Belief

What is it about Jesus that has given us faith in Him, and in which we have come to believe that He is not only the Son of God, but that God dwells in Him? Do we believe because He has told us who He is? Do we believe because of the stories and prophesies written in the Bible regarding Him, and His birth? Is it simply because of the miracles He performed during His lifetime, and in ours, or does our belief in Him require some of all these things before it can became real to us? Each of us is different in how we come to believe, some of us are led to believe like Peter the rock, some are like Paul who was blinded, then saw, and others are more like Thomas who doubted until he experienced the miracle of the resurrection with his own fingers and hand.

Our Hope in Scripture, and the Breath of Life to us

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , The Word

You may not be one who likes to read, and because of this you find yourself straying away from scripture, but in fact, scripture is meant to be spoken, recited, and repeated over and over again within our lives. This is especially true of what we find in the gospels as we study the life of Jesus. So we should speak the Word to one another, and live it out during every day of our life. The realization of our hope in God’s Word, and the gospel, is not in its reading, but in our hearing, understanding, and speaking it… in living it out perfectly in our lives.

Saving Souls, That none might Perish

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Saving the Lost

In Luke 9 we read that the apostles wanted to destroy a Samaritan village and its inhabitants for denying entry to Jesus, a Jew, but He told them otherwise. Yet, don’t we do a similar thing by judging as damned those who don’t readily follow Christ today? What is in our heart at a moment such as this? How can we call ourselves Christian, and do something so contrary to Christ? We too are meant to bring a message of salvation, and save the lost… not destroy them.

How am I called to witness?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Witnessing

Whether in the Old Testament or the New, we are told to go out into the world and declare the glory of God, and of Jesus Christ. We are sent to the Gentiles, the heathens, and to every soul that walks the earth but doesn’t yet know Them. Are we doing this today? Are we speaking of faith to our families, searching our communities for the lost, our country for the wayward, and the world for those who have never heard of God, Jesus Christ, and their glory that is contained in the Bible, and the gospel story of Jesus? Are we walking in our homes, and abroad, exercising the power of the Holy Spirit in us to do as we have been commanded?

No sin too small for our tears of contrition

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Tiny Sins

We call Jesus our Savior, but do we realize how much we actually need His salvation? It is so easy to look at thieves and murderers, and think of them as truly needing to be saved by the Cross. When we look at them we think that Jesus would needed to give His life for men and women such as these, but what about me? I am a moral person who might tell a tiny lie now and then, wouldn’t a simple prayer from Heaven have saved me? Well scripture tells us that all manner of sin separates us from God, so the answer is “No” we need His blood to cleanse our lie just as much as the thief, and murderer do their vile sins.

Remembering our Death, Rebirth, and all the Next Days

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Baptism

We have experienced the excitement, and anticipation that leads up to baptism, but once we have been buried with Christ, and raised to put on warm dry clothes, what comes next? What do we feel and do the day after our baptism? Some feel a bit of a let down as the excitement ebbs, others feel like they are charged with electricity, but many have a sense that something big is about to happen, yet they just don’t know what. This is what every pilgrim feels once they reach the starting point of their pilgrimage, and so it is with every Christian as they begin their journey of faith, walking with Jesus in the newness of life.

Asking God First, and always, as we go through our lives

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Asking God in Prayer

We consider ourselves to be wise, and able to maneuver, and survive in the world, by our own abilities, yet here we are again kneeling before God, and praying pitifully for His guidance, salvation, provision, and mercy. How many times must we go on trying to fend for ourselves, only to end up in a mess again, before we will seek the Lord’s direction, and ask that He be first in our lives? We are so self-assured that we develop our own plans and strike off to accomplish them with at most a quick prayer, never asking, only telling, God where we are going.

The Holy Bible, more than simply the Words we Read

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

We find the Word of God, and the words of Jesus to be perfect and truthful, but there is much more to them than our minds can understand through simple reasoning; there is something we must experience that cannot be seen with the eye, it is like a sweetness in our mouth, the touch of a baby’s soft flesh against our cheek, the groan of prayer, or a warm breeze in our hair, no words can reveal the fullness of these things. This is how the Holy Spirit helps us, revealing God to us as we search the scripture, and this is how we come to know Jesus as we read the words He spoke to us on the mount, and from the cross.

Glorious Baptism, where Death becomes Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Baptism

The old and unrighteous in us dies, and the new sanctified person rises up. From the living waters of baptism springs forth the people of a new covenant, like babies they have been washed, and are lifted joyously for all to see. They have become an image of the Risen Christ, with the Words of the Father ringing in their ears, and a new song bursting forth from their hearts… “Glory to God on the highest, and come quickly Lord Jesus!” These are now the heirs of the Prince of Peace! These are the children of God! On them rests the Holy Spirit, and in them their Father is pleased.

The Spark, and Breath of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Breath of God

I am certain that you have read, spoken, or heard words similar to these… “I have loved you from the moment you took your first breath.” Poets, songwriters, and lovers, like to use language such as this, but as beautiful as the sentiment might be it is based on a false understanding of how we begin our life on earth. In fact, we don’t take our first breath; we are given it. God breathes that breath of life into us, and then, with our spiritual and physical body running, we are able to continue on from there… but even so, we are never alone, nor are we without help from Him, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Perfect in Love… Just Because

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Loving as God Loves

Have you ever not liked someone from the very moment you met them? Did you somehow sense that they were bad, did you think that you were incompatible, or maybe that there was something about them which was too much like yourself… some part of you that you didn’t like too much? Well God could have disliked us for all of these same reasons, and yet He loved us instead, and we should love others just as He first loved us… just because.

Receiving the Good and Perfect Gifts of God

Richard Forbes
Faded Faith , Christian , Daily Devotional , Spiritual Gifts

We are tempted to believe that what we have in the world is good, and that it is all we need, but that is simply not true. The earth and everything in it is fleeting, and is never truly ours. So why is it that we value it so much? Why do we surround ourselves with what the world offers us, and treat it as if it were perfect, or even good, when in fact we will die, and all we have accumulated will be lost? In this life the things we have will disappoint us. God’s gifts are always good, and perfect; they never lose their value, and are always glorifying Him as we use them. They are unchanging, and eternal in every way.

The Mysteries of God, and Construction of Our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Mysteries of God

How is our faith constructed? Who are we without Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? Wasn’t it God’s plan from our inception that one would come to us then the other? That we are saved, and redeemed by Christ, and led by the Holy Spirit, so that in this way we can once again walk with God, as Adam walked? Isaiah prophesied regarding the coming of Jesus, and it has come to be. He also told us that God’s Spirit would come to us, and that too is now true, but is there more than this? Is there a mystery to solve?

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