Living Forevermore in God’s Glory

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Glory

What do you see in your mind’s eye when you envision Jesus? When at last you behold God’s glory will it be all that you have imagined, greater than you could have possibly guessed, or do you fear that His appearance will disappoint you in some way? Well, in this world we see with our eyes, but on that day when we behold Him face to face, our eyesight will yield to our other senses, and we will see Him more completely with our entire being, our heart, and our soul… it will overwhelm us like lightning. On that day all of creation will meet us in Him, and Him in us, for the first magnificent time.

Do not Fear, nor Despair

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Fear and Despair

Are we having a good day, or bad one today? I hope that this is an exceptionally good one for you, but life is also sprinkled throughout with days where we wake up wondering how we will make it, and praying for deliverance. On days such as this we need to stoke up the fire of our faith, and remember that no matter what happens during this day we are God’s children, and this is the day that He has made. It is alright to feel a sense of desperation, as a matter of fact every Bible account shows us that our Father demonstrates His greatest love, mercy, and provision, during desperate times, so if we trust, if we have faith, then He will lead us, and we will not succumb to despair, or find ourselves in the grasp of our faith’s greatest enemy… fear.

Growing in Spiritual Maturity

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Spiritual Maturity

As men and women of God we do many things of faith while following Jesus with our crosses on our shoulders. We feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, comfort the dying, and so many other acts of mercy. We love God, love others, give hope to the hopeless, and open our hearts to those who walk through the world invisible to everyone around them, but as we are busily doing all of these things we should never neglect our own spiritual growth. Sometimes we are so busy doing the THINGS of faith that we forget to nurture, and grow our own faiths. In this way we live perpetually in a state of shallow spiritual immaturity.

Our Works are Dead without the Life that Jesus Gives Them

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Dead Works

When we go about trying to earn our own way into Heaven, or win eternal life for ourselves by doing good deeds, it might temporarily make us feel better about who we are, but such efforts have little to no effect on our salvation. These are called dead works, and although all good deeds have some intrinsic value, these deeds are a hollow attempt at creating our own version of redemption. Only through Jesus Christ can we come to God, and truly be cleansed of the sin and guilt that has plagued mankind since his fall in the Garden of Eden.

God’s Remembrance, and the Book of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , The Books of God

What do we want to be written about us, to be recorded in the book of remembrance? Will what is found there speak of our faith, Jesus Christ, our righteousness, and our fear of God? Will these words recall our obedience, and the spiritual events which have made us holy, and worthy of eternity? Will what is detailed there speak of how our name is also recorded in the Lamb’s book of life?

Can one Christian Man or Woman make a difference in the world?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Our Christian Impact

We see horrific events unfold around the world; today we watch the Ukraine, the bombings, destruction, deaths of women holding their children, mass graves, and see church services being held in underground hiding places. As we watch with great empathy and sorrow we should remember that just as our Christian brothers and sisters in Ukraine, and elsewhere, are suffering in mass, there are many others who suffer alone, or in fewer numbers, every single day. God reminds us in the large hurricanes, and terrible wars, that somewhere in the world there are smaller, almost hidden storms which are destroying single houses and individual lives today… and that we are meant to suffer alongside them, and provide comfort to them as well, one heart comforting another.

A Tiny Bird, a Raging River, and finding God’s Joy in our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith and Joy

Christian’s, we are, by our faith, able to defy the trials of life, and find joy amidst the most terrible suffering that the world can throw at us. By focusing our attention and prayers on Jesus, who stands beside us in every storm, and beckons us to come with Him to higher ground, we are confident in our deliverance, peace, and joy. The unbeliever finds this incredulous, and beyond what any reasonable person might do given such circumstances. They ask themselves how a tortured soul could find even a smidgen of joy amidst such suffering… and yet in Christ we do; we rise up.

Knowing God, Knowing Jesus, and Understanding the Faith we profess

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Knowing Jesus

If we had two choices and each one would lead us to the same place, that being our resurrection from the dead, followed by joy, peace, love, and eternal life in the presence of God, which of these would we choose? Would we choose to live a life of happiness, and plenty, then to be lifted in song to Heaven, or would we choose to suffer through our days in pain interspersed with periods of happiness, and then gasp our last breath before ascending to Heaven? I dare say that we would all select the first option and want the life of happiness. However these are not our choices and we experience many trials as we are transformed into the image of Christ, learning what it means to be righteous, then holy, and finally perfected in His blood. Our choice is between eternal life or death… or in other words, between the hope of eternity in heavenly love and joy with God, or the present tangible earthly pleasures of the carnal. Knowing this, and the suffering that lies ahead if we choose to walk with Jesus… what will we choose, or what have we already chosen?

The Spiritual Power of Silence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Silence

The moments of our greatest strength are not those in which we lash out at our accusers, or argue against the injustice that faces us, but instead, our greatest strength is demonstrated in our silence, in the absolute confidence we have in God, and what is right in Him. The power of silence has never been more pronounced than during those telling minutes when Jesus faced the chief priests before Pilate… and said nothing. Is our faith this strong, and if not, do we pray for the day when it will be?

Discipline that brings Life to God’s Children

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Discipline

As the children of God we are loved, but with God’s love comes His responsibility to raise us up to be righteous, and good. Raising our own children requires us to show them our love, to have patience with them, and to teach them how to behave in faith as we have learned to do. We teach them goodness, humility, and many godly things, but in order to learn these behaviors they must be obedient, and for this lesson to be mastered it often requires that they be disciplined. It is the same with our Heavenly Father as He teaches us to obey Him, and to reflect His traits and attributes… to become like Jesus. The heart of discipline is not punishment, or subservience, but instruction, and correction.

Together we are encouraged to live out our faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Encouragement

As Christians we gather on the Sabbath to worship, praise the Lord, study scripture, and some of us meet again during the week to study the Bible, but how many of us come together during the week to simply encourage one another, and to comfort each other in Christ? How many of us gather to discuss how our lives are going, to share the spiritual challenges we face, or to cheer each other as we walk out our daily faith?

Our Hope and Transformation is made certain in Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Transformed by Faith

The Lord takes each of us into His hand as a weak and fragile thing, and then begins To remake us. He takes the broken and deformed among us, then makes us whole… strong enough to do His will. This is our God who can take a lowly worm, and make it like iron, and can even giving it teeth strong enough to crush mountains. Our Father transforms us from lost sinners into righteous men and women… into His own children. Are we ready to feel the change that faith in Jesus, and prayer in His name, is promised to bring us? Are we trusting, and brave enough, to believe, and thus become what we never dreamed possible?

Tarry not in your Faith but flow like Living Water

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional

What is it that causes us to move, most of the time it is because where we are has become uncomfortable, and in this way the allure of the slightest good beckons us to come. Most of us like to remain where we feel comfortable, and once we have put down roots we are reluctant to change, but not changing also means not growing. The shepherd knows this bout his sheep, and God knows this about us, so the shepherd drives his sheep to new pastures, and the Lord urges us towards a stronger faith with every storm we encounter.

Victory, our Joyous Song, and the final Wrath of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Final Wrath of God

As I read Revelation today I came to the account of the seven angels who brought the final wrath of God on the world in the form of seven plagues, but this image was not all gloom and doom; with them came those who had conquered the beast along with its image and the number of its name. These conquerors were singing the song of Moses, and Jesus Christ, and I thought to myself that I wanted to be counted in that number. I want to be one of the victors who will sing with great joy, knowing that the final plagues are at hand. I want to be one who will lift his voice joyfully in the realization that the final victory is at hand. Mighty is our God, merciful and full of grace is He, yet perfect is His judgement upon the world. Do we long for this day?

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