God’s Gifts to us for His will, the saints, and the lost

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Spiritual Gifts

Through the Holy Spirit we receive love, and many various gifts from God, and we know that we are to use them in doing God’s will, and to bring Him glory, but there are other reasons we have been given these gifts… we are to use them in service to one another, and also as we serve to be stewards of God’s grace. Do we receive a gift from God but neglect to use it as a means of helping and loving others? Do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our neighbors, as a dispensation of grace by using our gifts to ease the burdens in their lives, and to further God’s influence in them?

Responsive, Obedient, and Speaking God’s Word to a Heart that is breaking

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

God knows our hearts, and Jesus knows us too, but unless we are given instructions from Them, or the Holy Spirit, we can’t know these things about one another…. Or can we? There are occasions when we are given insight into a person, or situation that there is no way we could have known. This is not accomplished by mind reading, or deductive reasoning, but through the gift of empathy, or seeing into another’s heart, and we are led to know these things so that we can accomplish the will of God.

Are we Fireflies of Faith?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Light of God

What we say, and the way we behave influences others, and as Christians this can win souls for the kingdom of God, or drive them away towards eternal damnation. The consequences of the decisions we make, actions we take, and things we profess as being true, are profound in their effect on others... whether we intend for them to be this way or not. Our faith, or lack of it, holds the key to life and death for all those who witness our behavior, hear what we teach, and otherwise see our faith in action. In a dark world they are drawn to even a dim light of hope… how true is the light we shine into the darkness?

Breathing, Acting, and sometimes suffering in the Love of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

When the love of God has been given us as a gift of the Spirit it is never a burden, but a joy to wake up to every morning, and a pleasure that fills our entire day. We are told to keep His commandments, and to obey the commandments of Jesus, but neither of these are unpleasant, nor difficult, if our heart is in the right place. In this way His love takes control of our every breath and action, and we are renewed by it with every new dawn. Our dread is overcome, and we are never alone.

Having God’s love, and seeing it in others

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Loving as God Loves

There is a difference between loving someone as man does, and loving someone as God does. It is good to like others, but we are instructed in scripture to dig deeper than that; we are told to love. To meet others, especially others of faith, and simply like them, or to go through the motions as if we love them is far from where we should be spiritually. Liking is a superficial emotion, that can be based on nothing more than having similar interests, or enjoying the same things, but love comes from the heart, and soul. Love is of God, and is God.

Do not Despair; the World is Defeated

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Standing Firm, Faithful

When the laws and efforts of men place chains on us, the followers of Jesus Christ, and attempt to imprison our faith, do not lose heart, but know that while chains might constrain our bodies, the Word of God is not bound. This gives all those of faith the ability to love their enemies, and pray for the souls of the oppressors who stand against them. This allows us to obey our call the name of Christ, and worship God always. We should never lose faith when persecuted, or become disheartened when our prayers are prohibited in open forums. No, our prayers are heard always, even when our tongues are stilled by force, because the Word of God remains free, and we will praise Him even in our shackles.

Do we diminish the meaning and power of God’s love?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Love

We talk about the word “Love” a great deal, and we even say it to one another with great frequency, but by saying it, teaching it, studying it, and reciting poems and scriptures containing it, have we trivialized the true emotion and power of this word? Have we taken an emotion that is amazingly precious, given by God, and then systematically drained the true meaning from it? Is the love we once professed verbally for a spouse by saying the word “love” still capable of expressing how we feel after years of marriage, or has that “love” become something much more, something that even an hourly profession of “I love you” can’t convey? Was saying the word ever anything more than an incomplete attempt at expressing the depth of emotion we felt? We can say the word “love” a million times in our lifetimes and mean nothing by it, but if we have ever felt it, even once, we know just how ill equipped this word was at describing it.

Are we failing to be perfected?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Perfection

Scripture teaches us over and over again that we are to be like Jesus, and our Heavenly Father. We were created in the image of God, and then we are instructed to love as God loves, pray as Jesus prays, and among many other examples, we are instructed to forgive as they forgive. These things lead us towards becoming perfect as God is perfect… which is what we have been instructed to be. Yet, given our damaged human nature doesn’t the thought of failing to be perfect frighten us?

Forgiving as we should

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Forgiving

When we forgive someone who has wronged us do we actually forgive them as we should? Oh, we might say the words, hug one another, kiss, shake hands, and even shed tears, but do we put our differences completely behind us? Do we forgive, and then choose not to remember their iniquities; putting them out of our minds, never to be thought of again? Do we separate ourselves from them as God does?

Can we actually overcome hate, and love our enemies?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Love Your Enemies

One of the hardest commandments that Jesus spoke to us regarding love is for us to love our enemies, and pray for them. It seems unnatural to love someone who seeks your demise, or wants to harm you in some way. For an unbelieving man this is truly impossible. When we read these words we wonder if loving our enemy is a sacrifice we are asked to make in order to change this person in some way, but as we study these verses we come to understand that by obeying Jesus we are actually refining our own faith, because without knowing, and leaning heavily on the Lord, then loving someone who hates us would be impossible for us to accomplish.

Spirits recognizing spirits, and answering to the one great name of Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Recognizing the Spirit

Have you ever met someone that you have never known before, but have instantly recognized as a Christian? Before the first word was spoken, or introduction had been made, was there something that drew you to them as if your meeting had been planned all along? What is it that occurs at such moments? As certainly as we have physical appearances that our eyes recognize, we also have spiritual presences that one’s spirit recognizes in another. Do you believe this?

Our greatest weapon against a lost world

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Love

As Christians we have a weapon in our spiritual arsenal that can overcome every instrument of harm that the world can throw against us. We might think it is the power of God’s right arm, or perhaps the wisdom we have received that allows us to outthink the plans of anyone who comes against us, and any situation we find ourselves in, but the weapon we possess is mightier than these; our greatest weapon is the ability to love. When we love as God, and Jesus, love us, then we can disarm our enemies, and stand strong against every obstacle in life. We not only overcome our adversaries, but we transform them in the process. In this way we are using love to conquer the world as we should?

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?

Load More