Are we the Servants, Stewards, and Slaves, of Jesus and our Father God?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Servant , Steward, Slave

As Christians we are meant to be the servants of Jesus Christ, and moreover, the stewards of the mysteries of God, but what does this mean? Well, a servant is not a slave, but is someone who performs duties for another, while a slave is the property of his master. Given this definition, we are to perform tasks for Jesus as His willing servant. A steward, on the other hand, is not simply a waiter who takes orders and brings food to the table, but is one who maintains the stores, provides meals for others, and takes care of them… quite often while they are traveling. As we look at our lives of faith do we see the ways in which we are serving others as Jesus would have us do, and are we functioning as stewards of God to those who are traveling the way of faith towards Him?

The Love of Women, the Strength of Men, and the Design of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Our Love, Man’s Strength

God is love, and there is no love greater, but if there is a gold standard of love within the human race, it is the love of women. God suited them for this role, and when we compare our human love, the love of a parent, friend, or sibling, it is typically to the overall love of women. We see this in scripture in the words of David after Jonathon has been killed, and in our secular writing, poetry, and song throughout the ages.

Resisting Temptation as Christians

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Resisting Temptation

As Christians we are not immune to temptation, and though we resolve in our spirits, and minds, that we will follow Jesus, our bodies are still made of dust… a substance of the world. In this way our flesh is weak, and it is only by the faithfulness of God that we are helped to resist the powerful temptation of sin, and provided escape from it. This is not to say that we are destined to be lost, but that we would most certainly be so without the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the grace of God. Our bodies are not unlike others of the world, so a Christian is tempted just as the unbelievers, yet we have hope, redemption, forgiveness, and look forward to a glorified body. In these promises we are spiritually strengthened, armed, and transformed. Are we prepared to stand against temptation when it comes?

The Suffering Love of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Suffering Love

Jesus suffered for us, not out of obligation, but because He loved us. In this way, as our example in life, death, and honoring God’s grace, He teaches us not to shrink from suffering either. Scripture tells us that Jesus wept on three occasions, and If we love much then we will serve, and suffer, in this same way. Although the pain can be immense, our offering, and willing submission to it makes it fragrant, and brings honor to it. Suffering in love is something to be admired, and even desired on occasion. Do we loved this much? Have we given ourselves in such unbridled love and affection for one another?

Thanksgiving Together… Today

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Remembrances, Joint Prayer , Thanksgiving

As Christians we begin each day by thanking the Lord for His many blessings, but in the United States we celebrate a certain day in which entire families gather together and thank Him as one. We call this Thanksgiving Day, and although the secular join in by having a festive feast together, it began long ago as a holiday of Christian prayer; a time for worship, and thanksgiving, offered up as we thanked Him for His provision, protection, and the abundance of our lives… praying all this in the name of Jesus.

In our Spirit we find hope, and life… do not despair

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Spirit and Truth

It is tempting to think that we can find life, and not only the bare necessities of life like the rise and fall of our breasts, but the rich fullness of life, in the things we are able to physically do each day. In fact our happiness, joy, and the provision of everything that sustains us is spiritual in origin. Through the love of God, the peace of Christ, and the understanding given us by the Holy Spirit, we begin to realize that without the spirit nature of who we are, we are destined to be crushed by life, and doomed to a miserable death… not of the body, but something much deeper… our souls. Jesus hung on the cross with His body dying, but His Spirit remained alive in hope, and faith. His body was suffering even as His Spirit sustained life in Him… until He committed it to God.

Who, or What, do we make our Master?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Jesus our Example

By washing His disciple’s feet Jesus gave us an example of how we are to behave, love, and humble ourselves in service to one another. As He taught this lesson to us, He not only spoken to us about the significance of this specific event, but also about how we are to look at His life in total, and use it as a larger template for our own lives. The question we must each answer for ourselves is this…”Who will serve as the example for my life today; is it Jesus, or some facet of the world?”

God’s Love, and how we are made holy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

The apostle Paul loved the Thessalonian church and encouraged its members to love others just as he and his disciples loved them, but there is more to the love he describes to them than fondness and emotion. Paul says that if they love one another, and others, as he does them, then their hearts will be made blameless, and holy when Jesus returns to claim his Church. So how are we doing in this regard? Are we allowing the Lord to grow us in love, and make us blameless in it for others? Will God see us this way in judgement when Jesus returns to claim His Bride? We ask all of this to ask the larger question… Does our love make us holy?

For persons, people, and nations… return to your faith!

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Return to Faith

If our nation will once again return to God in a bold and powerful way, remorseful, repentant, and professing our love for Him, then He will circumcise our hearts so that we will be able to not only love him minimally, but with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength… even to our children. He does this so that we can love Him as His greatest commandment spoke of, and so that we might have eternal life.

The Glue that binds us in God’s Perfect Will

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Bound in God’s Will

As Christian men and women of faith we have received various gifts and callings from God so that together, as one body, we can bring His perfect will to light in the world. We each are inclined to see our calling as the all in all, but in the whole it must be joined with the calling of all the others to produce the result that God has planned. For this to happen the glue, and the mortar must join them together; this everlasting adhesive being love. Are we ready to join our calling with all the others through the power that binds us… love?

We are not captive to sin!

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Set Free From Sin

You are a Christian, but are there certain sins that you feel are holding you captive? Is your faith suffering because of some stubborn sinful behavior that you just can’t shake loose from? Sometimes we can begin to feel like a sin is holding us hostage, and that there is nothing we can do to escape it, but that is simply untrue because we have been crucified with Jesus, and in Him our sins have been brought to naught. We have been emancipated… set free from the bondage of sin.

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.

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