Do we understand what love is?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

As we study and dig into God’s Word we often stumble upon truths that seem to be hidden in the most interesting, and often obscure, places. Today, as I was reading Romans 5, in support of my morning devotional, I found just such a treasure… a pearl of great value that had escaped me previously. Romans 5 begins with a discussion of faith, but tucked into the fifth verse we receive a revelation regarding God’s love. This verse reveals to us the source of His love in us. So, if we are struggling with love in our lives, and wrestling with how to obey the commandments dealing with it, then this is our help… are we loving as we should?

Does the love of Christ control us?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Freedom, Love of Christ

Have we reached a conclusion as to what brought us to love Jesus Christ, and to believe Him to be our Savior? Was it the love he has for us that fueled the fire of our faith in Him? Was it how He spoke wisdom as He delivered the beatitudes? Was it one of the miracles He performed? Well, there have been many great teachers through the years, many men who have thrilled people with amazing acts, and doctors who have healed the sick, but there is only one man, Jesus Christ, that loved us enough to take on our sins, and who then gave His own life for us… to redeem all of fallen mankind from sin and death. It is this immense love that should control us, and bring us to our knees in belief. In this we love Him with all our hearts, and realize that we owe Him our lives; it is His love for us that has sparked our faith, and stoked its fire in us. Is this the conclusion we have reached regarding our faith in Jesus?

Loving Others as God Loves Us

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

God loves us, and if we believe this completely, and abide in His love, then God will abide in us. We all want to be loved, but are we loving God, Jesus, and all those around us as we should? Are we loving our families, friends, neighbors, and even our enemies? Love is not to be confused with tolerance. God doesn’t tolerate us when we don’t know Him, not in our disbelief, or while we are yet sinners, no, he loves us in spite of it, and deals with us lovingly regarding our lack of relationship with Him, and our sinful nature. This is how we should love others, by loving them just as God loves us, striving to know their hearts, and repairing our distant or broken relationships with them by speaking God, and Jesus Christ into their lives.

Lord Restore our Faith, and Heal our Land

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Returning to Faith

When we who have been lost, or have wandered astray, turn back to the Lord, He reestablishes us in our faith. Every day the ground in which that faith is rooted becomes richer through the application of His Word that fertilizes it, and through His love which fills our lives with His goodness and mercy. He pours himself out like a gentle rain to nourish us through His grace which flows like living water through Jesus Christ, and by the understanding of His will for us that His Holy Spirit gives. When we look about us we see a broken world that is lost, but the Lord has been waiting patiently for us to sow the seeds of righteousness within it, and to turn its wayward inhabitants back towards Him by pulling at their leads. Are we ready to stop wringing our hands in despair, and start breaking ground? It is time for all believers to begin sowing the seeds of the gospel of Jesus once more.

Loving as a Christian should love

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Christian Love

As we hear the greatest commandment which is to love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths, do we get so absorbed in doing this that we forget the second great commandment, or fail to give it the attention we should? Do we not love our neighbor, and one another, as we should, with the love that God has instilled in us for them? In this bitter world where people distrust one another, hate with reckless abandon, and place themselves above all others, it is easy to see how even a Christian might be tempted to find loving others in this manner to be impossible, and retreat back into the first great commandment where they can love God who loves them so perfectly. Yet we do not love as we are personally able, but with the love that God has given us… the ability that Jesus speaks of allows us to love one another without fail.

Steadfast Prayer, and our perfection in faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Steadfast Prayer

We are told to pray without ceasing and although many of us take this to mean precisely that, and live in a constant state of prayer, some translate this verse to mean that we are to pray regularly as if on a schedule, but how many of us adhere to even this limited regimen of prayer? Aren’t there those among us who only remember to talk with the Lord when trouble or need overwhelms them, while others are hard pressed to pray at all? Which of these describes our specific prayer life, and what is God’s desire when it comes to prayer?

What price for this pearl?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Abundance

When we deal in the world we expect to receive a product or service for a fair and equitable price. When we give a dollar for loaf of bread we expect that loaf to be of a certain size, and exactly what we have bargained for, but when we obey God, and do the things He has asked of us we don’t receive a fair price; no, He gives to us in abundance, and far more than we can imagine. Are we ready to answer “Here am I”, and receive the overflowing blessing of the Lord in return?

Glory to God for every answered prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Glorify God in Prayer

We pray in expectant intercession for others, and when God has answered our prayers for them, we should thank the Lord in prayer, and celebration, just as intensely as we first prayed for His help, His goodness, and for His mercy. Answered prayer, whether for ourselves, or others, is meant to serve God’s will, and to glorify Him. Are we as diligent in giving Him thanks as we once were in asking for His help? Do all of the intercessors give thanks as one… glorifying Him for all to see, and giving each witness the opportunity to join in the blessing by saying Amen?

Pray Today for the Pastors, Priests, and Missionaries

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Praying for the Called

Today, as we pray through our day, let’s give special attention to lifting up our missionaries, and pastors in our prayers. Let’s pray that they be inspired by the Holy Spirit so that their words will be courageous and bold as they speak the Word of God, and deliver the good news of Jesus Christ to those they come in contact with. Let’s also pray that they not hesitate to ask for our prayers just as Paul so often did.

Praying unselfishly for others

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Unselfish Prayer

We all need to pray for others, and to receive the prayers of others ourselves. It is good to pray personally for our own needs and desires, and to use our times of prayer to strengthen and renew our individual relationships with God each day, but prayer is not a treasure to horde, nor to be kept to ourselves. Prayer is a tool of faith to be applied lavishly at all times, in every situation, and for everyone. As we use it fully to communicate with God, we should use it to lift up every aspect of our faith, and the Lord’s interaction with us, and those around us. Are we selfish with our spiritual relationship, and prayer?

The power of joining together in Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Joint Prayer

There are times when it is more appropriate to pray alone, but it is also good to pray with one another when we pray for common causes, or in intercession for one of our brethren. Scripture tells us that we are to pray in secret, that Jesus would separate himself from the others to pray, and that prophets spoke alone with God, but there are other times when the disciples came together in joint prayer, and the Israelites came together before God in prayer. Praying together can be uplifting to us personally as we reinforce one another in our commitment, cause, and devotion, but it also increases the power of our petition, and the acceptance of God’s answer.

Being One, and sweeping the floors of our faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , One in Christ

Today’s world is defined by words like independence, freedom, rights, being my own man, doing it my way, and so many other thoughts, words, and phrases that, although seemingly good in one sense, tend to divide us, and push us away from one another when applied wrongly to our faith. When it comes to our faithfulness in Christ, these words can often separate us in ways that are very different from the desire of togetherness that Jesus envisioned for us. We were meant to love one another, be one in Christ, one with God, and of one Church, but our worldly definitions of these words encourage wedges to be driven between each of Christ’s ideas of oneness. Are we truly one as Jesus espoused, and wants us to be?

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