Transformed, Sanctified, and made Holy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Transformation

We are transformed by our faith, and become new creatures in Christ, but this is not a change that is completed the instant we first believe. We do experience a sudden change that is truly amazing, but then the longer process of refinement begins as day by day we are led to perfect ourselves further. Over the course of our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, we are shown the more subtle fleshy faults in ourselves, faults that we must pray about, and lean on God, as His children, for help in removing.

Entering into the House, and Presence of God, on our Knees

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Entering God’s Presence

We have accepted Jesus as our savior, and moved with our High Priest beyond the veil of the Holy of Holies sprinkled with His blood, and washed clean by the living water that flows from Him, but do we enter with a true heart? Do we simply find ourselves entering with our eyes open, with an inquisitive human mind, and an intellectual desire to see what awaits us there, or do we enter on our knees, praying, moaning in worship, and consumed by the Holy Spirit as we fearfully come into the presence of God? How do we pray? How do we come before God?

Humility, the Key to Heavenly Riches, Honor, and Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Seeking God, Seeking God’s Will, Religion, Humility

All of our advances in faith, and a righteous life, follow after our humility, and our desire to obey the Lord. When we pray with pride, or read scripture from a position of arrogant intellect, then there is no answer, and the truth in God’s Word remains hidden from us. In this way our belief in God, and faith in Jesus Christ, are merely outer garments that cover a religion based on our self alone. Until we humble ourselves, and let our love for God replace our desire to interpret scripture as we wish it to be, and stop praying as a form of negotiation, but pray instead in absolute humility, then we are attempting to establish a business arrangement with God, and He has no interest in sharing His sovereignty with us.

To be sad or afraid is to be human

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , , Sadness and Fear

As human beings we all experience fear or sadness on occasion, but it is not good for us to remain this way for any length of time. Digging into a few causes of these emotions we find that sadness can come as the result of many things such as lost love, disappointment, or abandonment, and fear from feeling insecurity, helplessness, or a sense of being overwhelmed by life and threatening circumstances, but God is our solution to them all. When we find ourselves unable to overcome, or cope, with these unwanted feelings, then we need to remember that God has invited us to turn to Him. Our trust in Him is the key to reclaiming our joy, happiness, and the healthy feelings of peace and security, once again.

God’s Will, and the Lesser Sons and Daughters of God

Richard Forbes
Glorious, Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith and Works

When we accept the God of Abraham as our God, and His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, we are saved by our faith, but until we begin living out that faith by acting on it in our lives, then we are only a glimmer of the person we are intended to be; we are lesser sons and daughters of God. We are like a child whose parent has given him a dollar for candy, yet he walks around with that dollar in his pocket, never putting it to use, and never tasting the sweet goodness that was intended to be his gift. We convince ourselves that the dollar has value, but it is just a piece of paper until spent; until put to use. So it is with our faith; that without acting on it we actually have nothing because we have squandered the gift. Without praying, loving, showing mercy, or forgiving… what is the true value of our faith, and having accepted Jesus as our Savior? We are deceiving ourselves.

Marriage - the Earthly, the Spiritual, and our Refreshment by Remembrance

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Marriage

Marriage, it is more than a simple ceremony, it is a Holy covenant that was first established between Adam and Eve in Genesis, continues throughout scripture as the model for all men and women to follow, and is the same covenant by which we see Jesus coming to claim His Church in the book of Revelation. When we marry we are entering into this covenant before God, and for us it is meant to be a lifelong promise of love, respect, and the creation of a new creature as we become one flesh. Each time we witness a marriage it is not only the establishment of a promise between those two people, but a reminder to all of us who have made this pledge, of the covenant we entered into with our own spouses. For every Christian it is also a very real reminder of the coming Christ. How healthy are our marriages? How true are we to our covenant?

Resisting Depression in a Fallen World

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Victory over Depression

In this age of COVID-19, that appears to us to be a never ending string of variants and new sickness, are we despondent? In this world that is filled with hatred, and an all out attack on the Word of God, are we afraid? As men turn against one another, and people die of COVID, it is easy to fall victim to depression, but if we continue to call out to the Lord He will answer us… He will protect us, and He will set us free. When we feel boxed in by events, and accosted by discord from every angle, our God will open the doors of this earthly prison and lead us into green pastures. He will turn us out into wide open spaces of endless and eternal joy, not by removing us, by the death of our bodies, but through the unshackling of our souls from the spirit of this world.

Uncovering our Lights of Faith before the World

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Light of Faith

Do we find ourselves living in the world and making short excursions into our faith? Have we designated certain times during a typical day to talk with Jesus, and God? We might be tempted to say no we don’t, but let’s examine our days by keeping a log. Many of us will find that we speak with God in the morning for a few minutes, then again at night before we retire. We might also say a short prayer before meals, but are we doing that only in the privacy of our homes, and not in restaurants or public places? For the remainder of our day, do we pray only on those occasions when we are afraid, or in dire need, but seldom, or never, speaking aloud in prayer, and remaining absorbed in the world for the bulk of our waking hours? This is neglect, and indicates that we are not truly being changed, but merely dabbling in our faith. When will we come to realize that our light is to burn all the day long?

Finding our Pearl of Great Value, and Securing it for Eternity

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Self, Salvation

We want to experience the glory of God, Jesus abiding in us, the Holy Spirit filling us, and eternity in a loving relationship with God. In other words we want to be in possession of the pearl that is mentioned by Jesus in the ‘Parable of the Pearl’, but are we bargaining with God over its price? Are we willing to sell all we have to own this treasure, and are we prepared to do so without a second thought, or are we trying to obtain the pearl from Him at a bargain price? How much of ourselves do we give, and what do we hold back in seeking our salvation?

Grace, the Purest Essence of God’s Mercy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Grace

The greatest example of God’s mercy comes in the form of Jesus Christ, who became the incarnation of God in the body of man. By Him we are saved, and through Him, we receive God’s grace. Jesus didn’t come to us so that He could experience what it meant to be a man, no, He came so that we, who were sinful and fallen, could be redeemed, and experience righteous life, and the fullness of God. Through Christ we were given grace, and it continues to flow through Him to this day; unmerited, unwarranted, and the purest essence of God’s mercy.

Are we really Good?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God is Good

As Christians we are told, and like, to do good things for those around us. In obeying God by doing good, we often mistake one another as being good, and we say such things as “He is a good man”, or “She is such a good person.”, but if Jesus would not let the rich young man call him good, then how can we possibly refer to one another in this way? Jesus was making a distinction between the act of doing good, and actually being good. We, like Jesus, are doers of good; not actually the embodiment of good, which is limited to God alone.

Praying Rightly in the Will of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Praying God’s Will

When we pray and do not receive it can be because we are meant to wait, but many times it is because our motives are not right, and we are not praying for those things that are in accordance with the will of God. When we are preparing to ask Him for something have we examined our own desires, and insured that we are not asking out of our selfish earthly vanities, or wants? Are we asking as we should for something meant to glorify God? Are we praying rightly?

How Far are we Drawn towards Jesus?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Called to Jesus

God draws us to Jesus Christ, but not all of us answer that call as we should. Some hear His voice and come to believe in Jesus completely, others begin to move in the right direction but give up before they reach the point of fully believing, a few look up from what they are doing but with little interest and without moving an inch, and then there are those who never give any indication that they have even heard God’s call at all. The question for us today is this… which of these are we?

To Whom do we turn when we are Hurt, or Afraid?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Turning to the Lord

In this life we take upon ourselves the responsibility for many of the troubles, and things that challenge us. When a father dies a child steps forward and takes control of the family farm, or when cancer attacks there is always one soul who, more than all the others, becomes the caregiver, and goes with the sick one to the doctor, and holds their hand while they suffer. As men and women of faith we will always be joined by God, and Jesus Christ, in such times as these, yet so often we don’t accept Their care like we should. When we are sick we keep looking towards our human caregivers for comfort, and when we are holding the hand of someone who is struggling, we never want to let it go, or put it in the hand of Jesus. We are reluctant to take His yoke upon us, and experience His rest.

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